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OF    CALIFORNIA          LIBRARY    OF   THE    UNIVERSITY   OF    CALIFORNIA 


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Y   OF   CALIFORNIA         LIBRARY   OF   THE    UNIVERSITY   OF   CALIFORNIA 


HISTOKY 


SECOND  IOWA  CAVALRY; 


CONTAINING 


A  DETAILED   ACCOUNT  OF   ITS    ORGANIZATION,   MARCHES, 
AND  THE   BATTLES  IN  WHICH  IT  HAS  PARTICI 
PATED  ;  ALSO,  A  COMPLETE  ROSTER 
OF  EACH  COMPANY. 


BY   SERGEANT   LYMAN   B.  PIERCE, 

\  ^ 

REGIMENTAL    COLOR-BBARBR. 


BURLINGTON,    IOWA : 

HAWK-EYE  STEAM  BOOK  AND  JOB  PRINTING  ESTABLISHMENT. 
1865. 


5oy 


PREFACE. 


When  I  entered  the  service  of  the  United  States  as  a  soldier 
nearly  four  years  ago,  I  commenced  a  diary  for  my  own  personal  use, 
sending  it  to  my  parents  as  opportunity  offered. 

Having  been  greatly  blessed  with  health  I  have  been  able  to  accom 
pany  the  command  on  nearly  all  of  its  marches,  and  to  participate  in 
most  of  the  battles  in  which  the  regiment  has  been  engaged.  This 
has  enabled  me  to  obtain  a  very  complete  record  of  its  doings,  which 
I  have  been  urged  by  my  companions  in  arms  to  publish,  that  they 
might  obtain  copies. 

The  notes  from  which  I  have  written  have  been  taken  upon  the 
inarch,  at  the  time  the  incidents  recorded  transpired,  and  then  com 
pared  with  those  taken  by  others,  and  the  official  reports.  The 
manuscript  has  been  inspected  by  Gen.  Hatch,  Gen.  CoDn  and  the 
field  officers  of  the  Second  Iowa  cavalry,  all  of  whom  have  attested 
to  its  correctness ;  hence  we  claim  for  our  book  a  degree  of  authen 
ticity  which  no  historian,  not  a  participant  in  the  events  he  records, 
can  attain. 

Justice  requires  me  to  add  here,  that  during  the  first  term  of 
service  the  Third  battalion — companies  E,  K}  L  and  M — were  armed 
with  sabers  and  carbines,  and  hence  did  most  of  the  charging ;  while 
the  First  and  Second  battalions  being  armed  with  Colt's  revolving 
rifles,  figured  less  in  dashing  exploits,  but  did  more  hard  fighting, 
This  remark  will  account  for  the  saber-men  being  oftener  spoken  of  in 
the  following  history  in  connection  with  fiery  dashes,  than  the  rifle 
companies,  while  these  receive  and  repulse  more  of  the  charges  of 
the  enemy  than  do  the  saber  companies, 

M126552 


CONTENTS. 


PART    FIRST. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Organization  of  Regiment — Field  Officers — Aggregate  Strength  of  Regiment — 
Place  of  Camp— Drill — Flag  Presentation— Benton  Barracks— Sickness.  .  9 

CHAPTER  II. 

Bird's  Point — Scout  after  Jeff.  Thompson — Charleston  Independent — Lane  of 
Starvation— Fight  at  New  Madrid— Pope's  Canal— Island  No.  10.  .  .  .  12 

CHAPTER  III. 

Move  to  Hamburg — Cavalry  Looked  Down  on  by  Infantry — Organization  of 
Cavalry  Brigades  and  Divisions — Reconnoissance  to  Monterey — Charge  by  Col. 
Elliott's  Escort — Major  Love  and  Masked  Battery — First  Raid  by  the  Second 
Iowa  Cavalry — Major  Love  Ambushed — Farmington  Charge — Boonville  Raid 
— Flag  Captured  by  Company  G 18 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Corinth  Evacuated — Blackland  Fight — Rest  at  Farmington — Blackberries — 
Boonville — Rienzi — Faulkner's  Attack  upon  Company  L — On  Picket.  .  25 

CHAPTER   V. 

Fall  Campaign  of  1862 — March  to  Boonville — Battle  of  luka— Fight  at  Payton's 
Mills — Rosecrans  and  Stanly — Battle  of  Corinth — Capture  of  Fort  Robinette — 
Pursuit  of  Rebels — Gen.  Rosecrans  Ordered  to  Army  of  the  Cumberland.  .  29 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Change  of  Commanders — Grant's  Campaign  into  Mississippi — Cavalry  Raid  on 
Holly  Springs — Fight  at  Yocona  River— Fight  at  Water  Valley — Exploits  of 
Company  K — Coffeeville  Fight — Col.  Dickey— Raid  to  Okolona— Van  Dora's 
Raid — Second  Coffeeville  and  Second  Okolona  Raid.  .  38 


CHAPTER  VII. 

First  Bridge  Burning  Raid  in  1863 — Grierson's  Raid— Fight  at  Palo  Alto  and 
Birmingham — Exploits  of  Company  G — Exploits  of  Mills  and  others  of  Com 
pany  A — Crossing  Tippa  River — Loyalty  of  Blacks  — Senatobia  Trip — Gen. 
Chalmer's  Hooped  Skirt  and  Corn-cob  Pipe 47 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

La  Grange  and  Camp  there — Mizner's  Raid  to  Paola — Company  K  sent  Back — 
—Transports  Fired  Into — Property  Burned  in  Retaliation— Scout  to  Jackson, 
Tenn. — Battle  There — Exploits  of  Companies  L  and  M— Desperation  of  a 
Rebel — Lieut.  Bandy  with  Dispatch — Granada  Trip— Large  Destruction  of 
Rolling  Stock 59 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Memphis— Churches  and  Prayer  Meetings— Battle  of  Colliersville  and  Cold 
Water— Gen.  George  Captured— Narrow  Escape  of  Capt.  Foster — Camp  at 
Colliersville .67 


CHAPTER   X. 

Gen.  S.  D.  Lee  at  Oxford — Hatch's  Movements  into  Tennessee — Foraging — Col. 
Mosby — Skirmish  at  Saulsbury — Battle  of  Moscow — Col.  Hatch  Wounded — 
Forrest  in  Tennessee — The  Tuttle  Raid.  ,  73 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Camp  at  Colliersville — Cold  Weather — Move  to  Memphis — Sooy  Smith  Raid — 
Okolona  and  Surroundings — Capture  of  Cox  and  Others — Burning  of  Prairie 
Station — Charge  of  Capt.  Graves  and  Lieut.  Bandy — West  Point  Captured  — 
Battle  of  Feb.  21st— Critical  Position  of  the  Second  Iowa— Bad  Management 
— Battle  of  Feb.  22d — Loss  of  Cannon — Stampede — Grierson  Assumes  Command 
— Scare  in  McCivllis'  Brigade — Regiment  Re-enlists— Election  of  Officers.  79 


CONTENTS.  Vll 


PART    SECOND. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Date  of  Muster  as  Veterans — Aggregate  Strength — Veteran  Furlough — Col. 
Hatch  made  a  Brigadier  General — Reception  in  Iowa — Maj.  Coon  Commis 
sioned  as  Colonel — Return  to  Memphis — Draw  Spencer  Carbines — Gen.  Forrest 
a  Terror — Gen.  A.  J.  Smith's  Tupello  Raid— Enemy  Surprised  at  our  Seven- 
Shooters—Fight  near  Ripley — Fight  at  Pontotoc — Smith's  Strategy — Tupello 
Fight— Battle  of  Old  Town  Creek 95 

CHAPTER  II. 

Expedition  to  Oxford  under  Gen.  A.  J.  Smith — Crossing  the  Tallahatchie — The 
Rain — Charge  of  Oxford — Reconnoissance  of  Captains  McMannus  and  Bandy 
— Charge  led  by  Sergt. 'Coulter— Battle  of  Hurricane  Creek — Attack  at  Talla 
hatchie 108 

CHAPTER  III. 

Reconnoissance  by  Capt.  Bandy — Forrest  moves  to  Middle  Tennessee — Hatch 
Starts  for  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland — Night  March — Cross  Hatchie — Mode 
of  Marching — Poor  Country — Greenwood  Volunteers — Reach  Clifton — Lack 
of  Horse  Shoers — Gen.  Hatch  Ordered  to  Report  to  Gen.  Sherman  at  Atlanta 
— Move  to  Pulaski 116 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Gen.  Hood's  Invasion  of  Tennessee — Hatch  Moves  to  Shoal  Creek — Fights  of 
November  8th  and  9th — Maj.  Moore  Moves  Around  Hood's  Army — Fight  of 
November  llth — Fight  of  November  16th — Dash  of  Company  D — Reconnois 
sance  by  Major  Hoi-ton — Fight  on  Butler  Creek — Gen.  Forrest's  and  Gen. 
Ruker's  Attempt  to  Capture  us 123 

CHAPTER  V. 

flood's  Advance  on  Nashville — Gen.  Forrest — Shoal  Creek — Fight  at  Lawrence- 
burg — Fight  at  Campbellville — Maj.  Moore  Cut  off— Desperate  Fighting  of  the 
Ninth  Illinois — Reached  Columbia — Mail — Herses — Mount  Carmel — Battle  of 
Franklin— Retch  Nashville  and  Edgefield 132 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Sufferings  at  Edgefield — Thomas  and  Hood  Fortifying — Battle  of  Nashville — Cap 
ture  of  Forts,  Guns,  Prisoners,  &c.— Charge  by  the  Twelfth  Tennessee — Battle 
of  December  16th— Capture  of  Gen.  Ruker — Capture  of  a  Rebel  Flag  by 
Sergt.  Coulter — Desperate  Hand  to  Hand  Encounter — Lieut.  Griffith  and  the 
Second  Iowa  Standard — Lieut.  Crawford  in  Rebel  Ranks — Gen.  Hatch  Captures 
Three  Cannon — Charge  of  the  Fifth  Iowa  at  Pulaski — March  to  Huntsyille, 
Eastport  and  Gravelly  Springs — Captures  of  the  Brigade. 140 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Trip  to  Tuscumbia — Retreat  of  Gen.  Roddy  from  Russellville,  Ala. — Exploits  of 
Thos.  Bearsner — Extracts  from  a  Rebel  Minister's  Journal — A  Refugee  Mer 
chant  Aided  in  Getting  his  Family  and  Cotton  Away — Horses  and  Arms 
Turned  Over — Complimentary  Order  from  Gen.  Wilson — Trial  Drill — Recep 
tion  of  the  News  of  the  Surrender  of  Gen.  Lee.  157 


HISTORY 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY. 


PART     FIRST. 


CHAPTER    I. 

ORGANIZATION  OP  THE  REGIMENT — THE  FIELD  OFFICERS — AGGREGATE  STRENGTH 
OF  REGIMENT — PLACE  OF  CAMP — DRILL — FLAG  PRESENTATION — BENTON  BAR 
RACKS — SICKNESS. 

The  Second  regiment  Iowa  cavalry  volunteers  was 
mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United  States  at  Dav 
enport,  Iowa,  August  25th,  1861,  by  Capt.  Chambers, 
commissary  of  musters. 

Washington  L.  Elliott,  Captain  in  the  Third  TJ.  S. 
cavalry,  was  commissioned  as  our  Colonel.  Col.  Elliott 
was  a  graduate  of  West  Point,  an  officer  of  acknowl 
edged  ability,  who  had  been  in  active  service  as  a 
cavalry  officer  for  fifteen  years  previous  to  the  breaking 
out  of  the  slave-drivers'  rebellion,  which  now  called 
him  to  a  broader  and  prouder  sphere  of  action.  He 
was  a  strict  disciplinarian,  every  inch  a  soldier,  and  to 
his  untiring  efforts  as  our  instructor  in  the  science  of 


;    1$  •'  KISTOEY    OF    THE 

war,  are  we  in  a  great  measure  indebted  for  whatever 
honor  we  afterwards  won  as  a  regiment. 

Our  Lieut. -Col.,  Edward  Hatch,  was  a  lumber  mer 
chant  of  Muscatine,  Iowa.  He  was  by  nature  a 
military  genius  of  the  first  magnitude,  and  soon  became 
the  pride  and  idol  of  the  regiment,  a  position  which  he 
never  lost,  while  his  sword  nobly  carved  the  "stars" 
which  afterwards  bedecked  his  worthy  shoulders.  He 
entered  the  service  as  Captain  of  company  "  A,"  but 
was  commissioned  Lieut.-Col.  at  the  organization  of  the 
regiment. 

Our  First  Major,  W.  P.  Hepburn,  was  a  lawyer  from 
Marshalltown,  Iowa.  He  entered  the  service  as  Cap 
tain  of  company  "  B" ;  was  a  man  of  fine  native  talent, 
though  not  overly  successful  as  a  soldier.  As  a  discip 
linarian  he  had  few  equals.  Our  Second  Major,  Datus 
E.  Coon,  was  formerly  an  editor  in  Cerro  Gordo  county, 
Iowa.  He  was  constantly  on  duty  in  camp  or  on  the 
march ;  a  zealous  worker  and  brave  fighter,  he  carved 
for  himself  an  honorable  distinction  among  his  fellow 
officers.  Hiram  W.  Love,  our  Third  Major,  was  highly 
esteemed  by  all  who  knew  him  as  a  perfect  gentleman. 
He  was  a  mechanic  from  Iowa  City,  and  entered  the 
service  as  Captain  of  company  "  H." 

"  The  Iowa  Boys  "  had  already  earned  a  proud  dis 
tinction  upon  the  ensanguined  fields  of  Wilson's  Creek 
and  Belmont,  and  the  boys  of  the  Second  Cavalry  de 
termined  to  add  to  rather  than  detract  from  this  good 
name.  Our  aggregate  strength  at  time  of  mustering 
into  service  was  1,019. 

The  "  Fair  Grounds  "  at  Davenport  were  assigned  us 
for  camp,  and  commodious  barracks  constructed  for  our 
accommodation.  While  at  Davenport  our  time  was 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  11 

occupied  learning  the  school  of  "  the  trooper  dismount 
ed,"  and, acquiring  the  knowledge  of  fencing  under  the 
tutorage  of  a  German  gladiator  by  the  name  of 
Graupner.  Officers  paid  him  $5.00  each;  enlisted 
men  $2.50  for  his  instructions.  He  was  a  master  of 
the  science,  and  under  his  instructions  the  majority  of 
the  regiment  acquired  a  good  degree  of  efficiency  in 
the  use  of  the  saber.  For  our  efficiency  in  this,  as 
well  as  in  the  "  foot  drill,"  we  were  paid  many  compli 
ments  by  visitors  to  our  camp,  and  were  much  petted 
by  the  good  citizens  of  Davenport,  who  claimed  us  as 
"  their  regiment." 

While  at  Davenport  the  State  of  Iowa  presented  us 
with  a  stand  of  colors.  The  flag  was  presented  to  Col. 
Elliott  by  Adjt.-Gen.  Baker.  Everything  went  off 
creditably  to  all  concerned.  We  left  Iowa  for  Benton 
Barracks,  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  Dec.  7th,  1861.  Here  we 
were  crowed  into  small,  poorly  ventillated  barracks, 
and  being  in  the  initiatory  stage  of  our  career  as 
soldiers — which  has  ever  proved  by  far  the  most  fatal 
period  in  the  history  of  military  men — diseases  made 
sad  havoc  in  our  ranks.  Although  we  were  in  St. 
Louis  but  about  sixty  days,  over  sixty  of  our  number 
found  their  graves  there.  We  afterwards  were  where 
we  met  the  enemy  nearly  every  day,  for  two  months  at 
a  time,  but  never  had  half  as  many  deaths  in  the  same 
length  of  time  after  we  entered  upon  active  field  duties. 
So  reduced  were  we  by  sickness  in  Benton  Barracks 
that  it  was  but  common  for  our  strongest  companies  to 
appear  on  "  dress  parade  "  with  not  to  exceed  ten  men 
in  ranks.  We  here  drew  horses,  horse  equipments  and 
sabers,  and  were  drilled  in  the  "  school  of  the  trooper 
mounted." 


12  HISTORY    OF    THE 


CHAPTER  II. 

BIRD'S  POINT — SCOUT  AFTER  JEFF.  THOMPSON — CHARLESTON  INDEPENDENT — LANE 
OF  STARVATION — FIGHT  AT  NEW  MADRID — POPE'S  CANAL — ISLAND  No.  10. 

On  the  17th  of  February,  1862,  we  bade  farewell  to 
our  camp  of  instruction,  and  taking  the  steamer  at  St. 
Louis,  sailed  for  Bird's  Point,  Mo.,  which  was  then 
"the  front."  We  were  now  armed  with  sabers  and 
pistols,  and  being  totally  ignorant  of  practical  warfare 
we  imagined  ourselves  well  equipped  for  the  fray. 
Each  thinking  himself  a  young  Napoleon,  but  chafed 
for  an  opportunity  to  exhibit  his  prowess.  The  heavy 
boom  of  the  cannon  then  knocking  at  the  gates  of  Co 
lumbus,  Ky.,  as  our  gunboats  patroled  the  river,  and 
the  battle  scarred  monsters  of  our  river  navy,  which 
had  just  returned  from  the  Fort  Henry  and  Fort  Don- 
elson  contests  and  were  receiving  repairs  at  Cairo, 
reminded  us  that  we  now  had  to  do  with  the  stern  re 
alities  of  war.  Nor  were  we  destined  long  to  remain 
inactive,  for  the  rebel  Col.  Jeff.  Thompson  was  prowl 
ing  about  the  swamps  in  the  vicinity  of  Charleston, 
Mo.,  and  on  or  about  the  25th  of  February,  Maj.  Love 
left  our  camp  with  his  battalion  to  attend  to  the  wants 
of  those  rebellious  disturbers  of  the  peace. 

At  Charleston  our  forces  captured  a  printing  office, 
from  which  the  rebels  sent  forth  a  weekly  paper  enti 
tled  the  "  Charleston  Courier."  Major  Love  remained 
at  Charleston  with  companies  "  I "  and  "  F,"  while 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  13 

Capt.  Graves  moved  on  eight  miles  further  to  Bertrand 
with  companies  "B"  and  "D."  The  boys  left  at 
Charleston  having  possessed  themselves  of  the  material 
left  in  the  "  Courier"  office  proceeded  to  put  out  a 
paper  called  the  "  Charleston  Independent,"  which  was 
perhaps  the  first  truly  loyal  sheet  ever  published  in 
that  vicinity.  Capt.  Graves  had  quite  a  chase  after 
some  rebels  through  the  swamps  around  Bertrand. 
Some  ten  or  fifteen  prisoners  and  a  horse  were  the 
principal  fruits  thereof. 

About  10  o'clock  p.  M.,  February  28th,  Col.  Elliott 
was  ordered  to  take  the  remaining  eight  companies  of 
the  regiment  and  reinforce  Love,  and  try  and  capture 
Thompson.  We  left  camp  about  11  o'clock.  The 
night  was  dark  and  foggy,  the  roads  desperate,  the 
horses  and  men  all  green  at  the  business,  and  as  we 
made  a  "  forced  march  "  the  ride  was  all  but  agreeable. 
We  reached  Charleston  at  daylight  where  we  halted 
forty  minutes  and  fed,  and  then  pushed  on  to  Bertrand, 
where  we  halted  about  two  hours,  when  Elliott  learned 
that  other  forces  had  done  the  work  and  dispersed 
Thompson  with  the  loss  of  his  command ;  hence  we 
returned  to  our  camp  at  Bird's  Point,  which  we  reached 
just  at  dark  on  the  29th.  We  had  been  gone  near 
twenty-one  hours,  eighteen  of  which  had  been  spent  in 
the  saddle,  and  as  this  was  our  first  march  we  were 
sore  and  weary. 

On  the  4th  of  March  we  left  Bird's  Point  for  New 
Madrid.  The  waters  were  very  high  and  much  delay 
was  experienced  on  the  march.  On  one  occasion  we 
marched  for  near  a  half  a  day  where  the  average  depth 
of  the  water  was  belly  deep  to  our  horses.  Near 
Bertrand  we  were  halted  for  three  days  in  a  lane  by 


14  HISTOEY    OF   THE 

the  well  stocked  plantation  of  a  rebel  Colonel.  Our 
rations  gave  out  and  our  Colonel  forbade  us  taking  the 
value  of  a  chicken  from  the  well  stocked  yards  of  the 
rebel  owner  of  our  camping  place,  on  penalty  of  death. 
Those  who  had  money  purchased  eatables  from  the 
overseer  at  exorbitant  rates ;  others  fasted,  and  the 
place  is  now  known  to  the 'Second  Iowa  as  "  the  lane  of 
starvation."  What  a  comment  is  this  on  the  policy  of 
our  government  at  this  stage  of  the  war,  and  what  a 
deadner  to  those  croakers  who  still  pretend  that  Jcind- 
ness  would  have  won  the  "  erring  brother  of  the  South  " 
back  to  the  Union. 

From  Sykestown,  Mo.,  we  escorted  the  siege  guns  to 
be  used  in  the  reduction  of  New  Madrid,  which  point 
we  reached  March  12th.  Here  we  were  told  that  we 
should  be  treated  to  a  battle  the  next  day.  We  had 
never  yet  seen  a  battle,  and  although  anxious  for  the 
fray,  the  thoughts  of  the  reflective  were  divided  be 
tween  their  loved  homes  and  the  dear  ones  there,  and 
the  imaginary  scenes  of  the  fast  approaching  conflict ; 
and  as  we  betook  ourselves  to  our  blankets  many  a 
tremulous  heart  breathed  a  prayer  to  the  Grod  of  bat 
tles  for  protection  for  the  living,  and  salvation  for  such 
as  should  fall.  Would  to  God  the  number  of  those 
who  pray  as  they  fight  were  greater  in  our  armies. 

With  the  early  dawn  of  the  13th  of  March  we  were 
all  on  the  way  to  the  field,  and  whatever  may  have 
been  the  internal  feelings  of  the  boys,  they  exhibited 
no  outward  signs  of  fear ;  but  a  look  of  their  deter 
mined  brows  was  required  to  tell  the  beholder  of  the 
determination  each  had  formed  to  do  his  duty,  come 
what  would.  Our  nerve  was  not  destined,  however,  to 
be  tried  on  this  occasion,  for  the  battle  which  opened 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  15 

at  daylight  continued  all  day,  and  resulted  in  the  occu 
pation  of  the  place  by  our  forces,  proved  to  be  only  an 
artillery  duel,  which  we  saw,  but  took  no  part  in.  We 
were  marched  off  the  field  about  4  o'clock  p.  M.,  still 
expecting  that  our  services  would  be  required  before 
the  place  was  taken.  The  rebels,  however,  evacuated 
the  fort  that  night  under  cover  of  a  severe  thunder 
storm,  and  our  forces  took  possession  on  the  morning  of 
the  14th.  The  works  surrounding  the  place  were  very 
strong,  and  had  they  been  properly  defended  thousands 
of  lives  must  have  been  sacrificed  before  they  could 
have  been  taken.  As  it  was,  the  strategy  of  our  ex 
cellent  General,  John  Pope,  took  the  place,  with  a  loss 
of  but  eighteen  men  killed  and  wounded. 

New  Madrid  ours,  the  next  object  to  be  gained  was 
to  get  transports  below  the  batteries  of  Island  No.  10, 
which  was  still  in  rebel  hands.  To  accomplish  this 
Gen.  Pope  caused  a  canal  to  be  cut  through  a  bayou  on 
the  west  side  of  the  river,  the  upper  end  entering  the 
river  above,  and  the  lower  end  below  the  island.  So 
secret  was  the  execution  of  this  that  although  we  wa 
tered  our  horses  in  the  bayou  all  the  time  the  work 
was  in  progress,  we  knew  nothing  of  it  until  we  saw 
the  smoke  of  the  downward  bound  transports.  The 
canal,  which  was  twelve  miles  in  length,  had  been  cut 
out  of  a  very  heavy  timbered  swamp  or  bayou,  in 
which  the  water  was  now  of  sufficient  depth  to  be  nav 
igated  by  ordinary  steamers.  The  rebels  now  fearing 
for  the  safety  of  the  forces  stationed  at  Island  No.  10, 
since,  as  they  said,  "  the  d — d  Yankees  could  navigate 
dry  land,"  evacuated  this  tower  of  strength  which  had 
so  long  successfully  defied  the  fiercest  assaults  of  our 
gunboats,  and  struck  to  the  interior  for  safety. 


16  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Gen.  Pope  crossed  a  part  of  his  army  known  as  "  the 
army  of  the  Mississippi,"  to  the  Kentucky  side  of  the 
river,  April  7th,  when,  learning  of  the  evacuation  of 
the  Island,  he  discontinued  the  movement  and  returned 
to  camp  at  New  Madrid,  not,  however,  until  he  had  de 
tached  a  small  force  to  pursue  the  retreating  foe.  Com 
panies  "  K "  and  "  L,"  of  the  Second  Iowa,  formed  a 
part  of  this  detachment,  and  were  the  first  Federal 
forces  within  the  rebel  works  on  the  Kentucky  side,  at 
Island  No.  10. 

With  these  forts  were  captured  fifteen  hundred 
thousand  dollars  ($1,500,000)  worth  of  army  stores. 
Over  6,000  prisoners  were  picked  up  by  our  forces. 
The  rebels  having  left  their  cover  and  trusted  to  flight 
for  safety,  appeared  to  have  lost  all  confidence  in  their 
ability  to  fight,  and  surrendered  at  the  first  call  from  a 
Yankee  pursuer  regardless  of  the  numerical  strength  of 

J-  O 

the  squads  who  thus  came  in  collision.  One  infantry 
man  came  single-handed  upon  a  rebel  sergeant  and  five 
men,  bearing  a  costly  silk  flag,  on  which  was  inscribed, 
"Mississippi  Devils.  Presented  by  the  ladies"  One 
would  think  that  six  men  would  fight  against  one  for 
such  a  memento  as  this  from  "  the  girls  they  left  be 
hind  them,"  but  facts  talk  differently,  for  our  hero  cap 
tured  the  squad  and  marched  them  into  camp  under 
their  own  flag,  bearing  it  himself. 

Col.  Elliott  was  in  command  of  the  cavalry  which 
first  discovered  that  the  rebels  had  evacuated  "  Island 
No.  10."  As  he  neared  the  place  he  ordered  Lieut. 
Gustavus  Schnetger,  of  company  "E,"  acting  regi 
mental  Adjutant,  to  take  eight  men  and  a  guide  and 
reconnoiter  the  rebel  works.  Lieut.  Schnetger  took 
the  men  from  company  "  L,"  who  were  advance  guard. 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  17 

A  citizen  guide  was  pressed  for  the  occasion.  As  this 
little  band  neared  the  works  they  discovered  that  the 
principal  part  of  the  forces  were  gone,  although  many 
stragglers  were  to  be  seen  on  every  side.  Upon  these 
the  boys  dashed  with  so  much  intrepidity  that  the  reb 
els,  never  dreaming  but  that  the  entire  Yankee  army 
was  upon  them,  surrendered  at  sight,  and  when  CoL 
Elliott  came  up  with  his  reinforcements  Schnetger  re 
ported  to  him  with  eighty-six  prisoners.  The  infantry 
were  in  sight  when  our  boys  reached  the  fortifications, 
coming  down  the  river  by  boat,  and  but  for  this  ad 
vance  guard  under  Lieut.  Schnetger,  would  have  merited 
the  honor  of  first  entering  the  work.  As  it  was  the 
honor  of  capture  was  awarded  the  cavalry,  although 
Gen.  Buford  tried  to  claim  the  honor  for  his  infantry. 
Among  the  captures  here  were  two  steamers,  viz :  the 
"  Ohio  Belle"  and  "lied Hover"  besides  many  cannon 
and  many  tons  of  ordnance  stores. 


18  BISTORT    OF  THB 


CHAPTER  III. 

MOTE  TO  HAMBURG — CAVALRY  LOOKED  DOWN  ON  BY  INFANTRY — ORGANIZATION 
OF  CAVALRY  BRIGADES  AND  DIVISIONS — RECONNOISSANCE  AT  MONTEREY — CHARGI 
BY  ELLIOTT'S  ESCORT — MAJ.  LOVE  AND  MASKED  BATTERY — FIRST  RAID  OF  TH» 
SECOND  IOWA — MAJ.  Lovs  AMBUSHED — FARMINGTON  CHARGE — BOONVILLE  RAID 
— FLAG  CAPTURED  BY  COMPANY  "G." 

On  the  12th  of  April,  1862,  we  went  on  board  a  fleet 
at  New  Madrid,  and  in  common  with  the  balance  of  the 
"  Army  of  the  Mississippi,"  moved  down  the  river  for 
the  purpose  of  capturing  Fort  Pillow  and  Memphis. 
The  stage  of  the  water  in  the  river,  however,  was  so 
high  as  to  prevent  successful  operations  in  this  quarter, 
and  on  the  17th  instant  we  were  ordered  back,  and 
thence  up  the  Tennessee  river  to  Hamburg,  which  place 
we  reached  April  23d.  We  now  formed  part  of  the 
grand  army  under  Gren.  Halleck,  which  was  investing 
Corinth,  Miss.  We  were  still  under  Gen.  Pope,  who 
formed  Halleck' s  left  wing.  The  cavalry  branch  of 
the  service  was  now  in  great  disrepute  among  Halleck' s 
entire  army.  At  Shiloh  the  infantry  said  they  had 
acted  badly,  and  all  assumed  that  all  cavalry  would  do 
the  same.  Pope,  however,  being  himself  an  old  cavalry 
officer,  showed  the  world  that  he  could  make  this 
branch  of  the  service  very  effective.  Instead  of  mix 
ing  them  with  infantry  in  the  same  regiments  and  brig 
ades,  he  organized  cavalry  brigades  and  divisions,  plac 
ing  them  under  cavalry  officers,  and  when  thus  organized 
he  assigned  to  them  their  appropriate  duty.  When 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  1$ 

advancing  we  were  required  to  reconnoiter  every  foot 
of  the  country  before  the  infantry  occupied  it.  We 
were  kept  constantly  on  duty,  either  as  pickets  our 
selves  or  feeling  the  pickets  of  the  enemy,  and  gaining 
information  relative  to  the  whereabouts  of  the  foe,  or 
raiding  to  their  rear  and  cutting  their  base  of  supplies. 
Col.  Elliott  was  given  command  of  a  brigade  consisting 
of  the  Second  Iowa  and  Second  Michigan  cavalry,  and 
Lieut.-Col.  Hatch  assumed  command  of  the  regiment. 

On  the  28th  of  April,  while  advance  guard  for  a  re- 
connoissance  in  force,  we  came  upon  a  rebel  camp  near 
Monterey.  A  small  squad  of  the  regiment,  principally 
from  the  Colonel's  escort,  charged  this  camp,  driving 
the  rebels  pell  mell  through  it,  and  thence  back  to  their 
reserve  force,  a  mile  and  a  half  beyond  the  camp. 
This  squad,  not  over  fifteen  in  number,  charged  the 
retreating  rebel  cavalry,  seventy-five  strong,  through 
the  infantry  pickets,  of  whom  they  captured  seventeen 
and  brought  them  safely  back  to  camp.  Private  J. 
Canfield,  company  "  B,"  captured  in  this  chase  six  of 
the  pickets  of  the  enemy  in  one  squad.  Private  R.  M. 
Downer,  of  company  "K,"  captured  three  on  an  ad 
joining  post.  Both  of  these  boys  had  been  reduced  to 
the  ranks  from  Sergeants  but  a  few  weeks  before,  be 
cause  they  resented  the  tyranny  of  officers  over  them. 

While  this  scene  was  being  enacted  Major  Love  came 
with  his  battalion  unexpectedly  upon  a  masked  battery, 
which  opened  on  him  with  grape,  killing  one  man  of 
company  "  B,"  and  wounding  three  of  company  "  I." 
This  was  the  first  blood  spilled  by  the  Second  Iowa 
upon  the  altar  of  liberty. 

The  first  raid  made  by  the  Second  Iowa  was  made 
under  the  command  of  Lieut.-Col.  Hatch,  on  the  30th 


20  HISTORY    OF   THE 

of  April,  1862,  and  resulted  in  the  burning  of  a  bridge 
on  the  Memphis  and  Charleston  Railroad,  which  then 
formed  one  of  the  principal  avenues  through  which 
supplies  reached  the  rebels  at  Corinth.  The  feat  was 
accomplished  without  loss  to  ourselves. 

On  the  8th  of  May  Col.  Elliott,  with  our  brigade, 
made  another  reconnoissance  on  the  left  wing  of  Beau- 
regard's  army.  We  skirmished  with  the  enemy  at  sev 
eral  points.  Major  Love,  while  reconnoitering  upon 
the  right  with  his  battalion,  was  ambushed  by  a  vastly 
superior  force,  and  barely  escaped  with  the  loss  of  one 
killed  and  five  wounded.  "  H  "  company  were  left  on 
picket  while  the  remainder  of  the  regiment  returned  to 
camp. 

Everything  now  indicated  that  the  long  expected 
battle  between  Halleck  and  Beauregard  would  open 
with  the  dawn  of  the  9th  of  May,  and  as  we  betook 
ourselves  to  our  blankets  after  our  reconnoissance  on 
the  8th,  we  were  happy  and  yet  sad.  Happy,  because 
as  we  fondly  hoped,  the  next  sun  would  look  down  upon 
a  signal  victory  for  the  Federal  arms ;  sad,  because  we 
knew  that  if  our  hopes  were  realized  and  a  victory 
gained,  many  a  brave  companion  in  arms  must  that  day 
seal  his  devotion  to  his  country  with  his  life's  blood. 

The  9th  of  May  came  clear  and  beautiful,  but  with 
it  came  not  the  expected  bugle  call  summoning  us  to 
the  deadly  fray.  We  had  misjudged.  Halleck' s  plans 
did  not,  as  we  had  guessed,  contemplate  a  grand  attack, 
and  as  the  forenoon  wore  away  we  very  naturally  con 
eluded  that  that  day  would  add  little  worthy  of  note 
to  our  history ;  but  here  again  were  we  mistaken,  for 
God  had  ordained  that  it  should  try  the  nerve  of  the 
Second  Iowa  as  few  regiments  are  ever  tried.  About 


SECOND   IOWA    CAVALRY.  21 

10  o* clock  A.  M.  an  Orderly  came  dashing  into  onr  camp 
with  orders  to  Lieut.-Col.  Hatch  to  fly  with  all  possible 
speed  with  the  Second  Iowa  to  the  assistance  of  Gen. 
Paine,  who,  -while  making  a  reconnoissance  near  Far- 
mington,  had  been  suddenly  attacked  by  a  vastly  su 
perior  force  and  was  in  imminent  danger  of  losing  his 
entire  division.  In  less  than  five  minutes  after  the  Or 
derly  reached  Hatch's  headquarters  the  regiment  were 
galloping  to  the  field,  distant  two  miles.  As  our  col 
umn  came  from  the  timber  we  saw  the  lines  of  Paine' s 
division  rapidly  retreating  before  the  murderous  grape 
and  canister  of  the  rebel  artillery.  Hurrying  to  the 
top  of  a  hill  near  we  came  in  full  view  of  a  confederate 
battery  of  eight  guns.  These  all  opened  on  us,  and 
the  few  minutes  we  remained  there  inactive  awaiting 
orders,  were  far  more  trying  than  any  other  I  ever  ex 
perienced  as  a  soldier.  Orders  to  fall  back  soon  came, 
and  we  found  ourselves  partially  sheltered  by  a  little 
rise  in  the  ground.  Gen.  Paine' s  only  line  of  retreat 
now  lay  across  a  creek  500  yards  to  our  rear,  and  one 
rail  bridge  afforded  the  only  means  for  crossing. 
Across  this  bridge  the  division,  with  its  artillery  and 
train,  must  go,  or  salvation  from  capture  was  impossi 
ble.  As  Paine' s  forces  neared  this  bridge,  the  rebels, 
who  knew  every  foot  of  the  country,  prepared  to  charge 
with  their  artillery  to  a  hill  now  between  the  two  con 
tending  forces.  If  the  rebels  should  gain  this  hill  they 
would  command  the  bridge  with  twenty -four  pieces  of 
artillery,  and  could  of  course  keep  any  force  from  cross 
ing.  This  would  render  Paine' s  capture  certain.  To 
checkmate  this  move  we  were  ordered  to  form  for  a 
charge.  As  we  formed,  a  force  of  rebel  sharp-shooters 
on  our  right  gave  us  notice  of  their  proximity.  At 


$2  HISTORY    OF   THE 

this  juncture  Gen.  Paine  came  up,  and  in  a  voice  suffi 
ciently  loud  to  be  heard  by  the  entire  regiment,  thus 
addressed  our  commander:  "You  will  charge  that 
right  hand  battery  with  this  cavalry ;  take  and  hold  it 
at  all  hazards  until  I  can  get  the  infantry  there  to  sup 
port  you" 

The  enemy's  cannon,  twenty-four  in  number,  were 
formed  in  a  curve.  They  were  supported  by  15,000 
infantry,  and  they  in  turn  were  supported  by  all  of 
Gen.  Price's  army.  Our  little  band  did  not  exceed  500 
men,  and  yet  we  were  ordered  to  "  take  and  hold  a  bat 
tery  supported  by  this  force"  We  " drew  saber "  and 
at  the  given  signal  all  spurred  to  the  conflict.  The 
scene  is  said  by  spectators  to  have  been  awfully  grand. 
As  we  arose  the  hill  so  as  to  come  in  direct  range  of 
the  rebel  guns  they  opened  upon  us,  and  the  air  was 
perfectly  thick  with  grape,  canister  and  exploding 
shell.  About  midway  between  where  we  started  the 
charge  and  the  object  of  our  mad  ride,  was  a  ditch  so 
deep  and  wide  that  not  over  one-half  of  the  horses 
could  cross  it.  This,  with  the  balls  from  the  foe,  so 
completely  broke  our  ranks  that  men  could  not  keep 
with  their  companies,  or  officers  with  their  men ;  still 
all  spurred  onward,  thinking  only  of  the  capture  of  the 
guns.  Lieut.-Col.  Hatch  seeing  the  condition  of  affairs 
did  all  mortal  could  to  stop  us,  but  we  had  got  such  a 
start  that  his  voice  could  not  be  heard.  As  we  came 
within  a  few  yards  of  the  rebel  lines  their  infantry 
arose  and  poured  such  a  volley  upon  us  that  it  was  a 
wonder  we  were  not  annihilated.  Fortunately  for  us, 
however,  our  course  was  over  plowed  ground,  and  as  it 
was  quite  dry  a  friendly  cloud  of  dust  obscured  us,  and 
the  aim  of  the  infantiy  was  too  high,  while  that  of  the 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  25 

artillery  was  too  low.  This  alone  saved  us.  We  drove 
the  gunners  from  one  battery,  but  were,  of  course, 
quickly  repulsed.  Although  the  charge  lasted  less 
than  three  minutes,  over  one-half  of  our  number  were 
rendered  " kors  du  combat"  in  it.  The  charge  was  a 
success,  although  we  were  repulsed,  for  by  it  Paine 
gained  time  to  run  his  forces  across  the  bridge.  He 
said  we  went  much  further  than  he  desired  us  to  go, 
and  that  the  order  for  the  charge  was  given  in  the 
strong  language  used  because  he  feared,  being  raw  re 
cruits,  we  would  give  back  too  soon.  When  Col.  Elli 
ott,  commanding  the  brigade,  learned  where  we  had 
been  sent,  he  was  very  angry  with  Paine  and  cursed 
him  vehemently.  Paine  excused  himself  by  saying 
that  he  did  not  think  we  would  go  so  far.  To  this 
Col.  Elliott  responded :  • "  I  v/ant  you  to  know  that  I 
have  taught  that  regiment  to  gc  to  h — I  if  ordered 
there,  but  I  did  n't  fetch  them  here  to  have  them  or 
dered  there." 

The  Federal  forces  having  now  got  Corinth  nearly 
surrounded  it  became  desirable  to  cut  their  railroad 
communication  with  Mobile.  For  this  purpose  it  was 
proposed  to  send  a  cavalry  force  around  to  the  rear  of 
Beauregard's  army  to  strike  the  "  Mobile  and  Ohio " 
Railroad  at  Boonville,  Mississippi,  wheie  it  was  known 
the  rebels  had  a  valuable  depot  of  army  steles.  This 
raiding  party  must  pass  between  different  portions  of 
the  rebel  army ;  hence  the  exploit  was  a  very  hazard 
ous  one.  Gen.  Pope  selected  Col.  Elliott  and  our  brig 
ade,  consisting  of  the  Second  Iowa  and  Second  Michigan 
cavalry,  as,  in  his  judgment,  best  fitted  for  the  under 
taking. 

We  set  out  at  midnight  of  the  28th  of  May,  1862, 


24  HISTORY    OF    THE 


by  stealthy  marches  by  cow-paths  and  by-roadsr 
reached  Boonville  in  safety  on  the  morning  of  the  30th. 
At  daylight  Elliott  charged  the  town,  capturing  3,000 
convalescent  confederate  soldiers  and  a  large  train  of 
(cars  loaded  with  10,000  stand  of  small  arms,  and  two 
pieces  of  artillery  ;  also,  a  depot  containing  a  very 
large  amount  of  ammunition.  All  these  stores  were 
burned.  Sergt.  Budd  and  six  men  of  company  "  Gr" 
were  sent  up  the  railroad  in  a  hand  car  in  search  of  a 
bridge  that  could  be  burned.  They  encountered  a 
force  of  rebels  guarding  a  wagon  train,  and  succeeded 
in  capturing  the  train.  Private  Jas.  Kennedy  captured 
a  large  rebel  flag  and  gave  it  to  Sergt.  Budd,  who  re 
turned  with  it  to  the  command.  The  enemy  now  came 
up  and  the  balance  of  the  squad  were  captured.  Ken 
nedy  was  severely  wounded.  The  flag  here  captured 
was  forwarded  to  the  capitol  of  the  State  of  Iowa, 
where  it  can  be  seen  for  the  trouble  of  calling.  As 
may  be  supposed,  the  rebels  had  by  this  time  massed  a 
heavy  force  to  oppose  to  Elliott,  and  all  his  strategy 
and  skill  were  required  to  successfully  retrace  his  steps 
and  regain  the  command  at  Farmington.  The  trip 
was,  however,  made  successfully,  and  Elliott  reached 
camp  about  dark  on  the  31st  of  May.  This  raid  was 
pronounced  a  great  success  by  the  military  men  of  the 
day,  and  secured  for  Elliott  a  "  star." 


SECOND   IOWA   CAVALRY.  25 


CHAPTER   IV. 

CORINTH  EVACUATED— BLACKLAND  FIGHT — REST  AT  FARMINGTON — BLACKBERRIES 
— BOONVILLE — RIENZI— FAULKNER'S  ATTACK — COMPANY  "  L  "  ON  PICKET. 

Beauregard  finding  Halleck's  coil  drawing  closer  day 
by  day,  evacuated  Corinth  without  a  battle,  and  our 
forces  took  possession  of  it  on  the  31st  of  May,  1862. 
Among  the  first  Federal  troops  to  enter  Corinth  was 
company  "  E,"  of  the  Second  Iowa,  then  acting  as  body 
guard  to  Gen.  Pope.  On  the  2d  of  June  Elliott  again 
started  with  his  brigade — Hatch  being  in  command  of 
the  Second  Iowa — and  followed  the  retreating  rebel 
army  to  Blackland.  Here  the  brigade  got  into  a  des 
perate  though  short  contest  with  the  enemy,  in  which 
company  "  D "  were  especially  complimented  by  the 
Col.  commanding  for  their  coolness  and  daring.  The 
command  had  to  cross  a  narrow  bridge  under  a  galling 
artillery  fire,  and  great  coolness  was  required  to  keep 
the  different  companies  from  crowding  together  and 
thus  blocking  the  passage.  Two  of  company  "H" 
were  killed  by  a  cannon  ball  on  this  bridge. 

On  the  15th  of  June  our  regiment  was  relieved  from 
the  front  and  allowed  to  move  back  to  Farmington  for 
a  little  much  needed  rest.  We  had  been  in  the  field 
just  four  months,  during  which  time  we  had  been  con 
stantly  on  the  go.  We  had  saddled  up  nearly  every 
morning  at  3  o'clock,  and  much  of  the  time  we  had 
slept  at  night  in  line  of  battle,  each  man  holding  his 
horse  by  the  bridle.  Hardly  a  day  during  this  time 
4 


26  HISTORY    OF    THE 

had  passed  without  more  or  less  skirmishing  by  the 
regiment  with  the  rebels.  Our  horses,  which  were  in 
fine  condition  when  we  reached  Bird's  Point,  were  now 
very  lean,  and  their  backs  presented  a  sad  spectacle.  < 
Blackberries  were  in  their  prime,  and  surely  no 
country  on  the  globe  can  compete  with  Tishamingo 
county,  Miss.,  in  the  production  of  this  fruit.  As  we 
had  little  duty  to  do  we  kept  a  supply  of  these  berries 
constantly  in  our  tents,  and  feasted  on  them  to  our 
heart's  desire.  The  result  of  this  was  a  marked  im 
provement  in  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  regiment. 
But  rest  and  luxuries  belong  not  to  soldiers,  and  on  the 
26th  of  June  we  were  again  ordered  to  the  front.  We 
took  up  our  post  at  Boonville  on  the  28th.  We  now 
formed  an  outpost  eight  miles  in  advance  of  infantry 
support.  The  rebels  soon  learned  the  circumstances 
surrounding  us,  and  quickly  prepared  to  improve  their 
supposed  advantage.  On  the  1st  of  July  Col.  Chal 
mers,  with  4,000  strong,  furiously  attacked  our  camp 
at  Boonville,  having  first  gained  the  road  in  our  rear 
so  as  to  prevent  our  retreat  upon  the  infantry  at  Bienzi. 
This  precaution  of  the  rebel  Colonel,  however,  was  un 
necessary,  for  Col.  Phil.  Sheridan,  who  then  command 
ed  our  brigade,  had  no  thought  of  retreat,  although  he 
had  but  800  men  from  the  Second  Iowa  and  Second 
Michigan  cavalry.  So  confident  was  Chalmers  of  suc 
cess  that  he  came  well  supplied  with  a  wagon  train  to 
be  used  in  conveying  away  our  camp  and  garrison 
equipage  which  he  should  capture.  But,  alas  for  hu 
man  expectations,  we  loaded  his  train  with  his  killed 
and  wounded,  and  sent  him  back  at  a  much  livelier 
tune  than  that  to  which  he  advanced.  The  Second 
Michigan  were  armed  with  Colt's  revolving  rifles ;  the 


SECOND    IOWA   CAVALRY.  27 

Second  Iowa  with  Sharp's  carbine,  a  navy  revolver  and 
a  saber  each.  The  Second  Iowa  held  the  flanks  and 
made  dashes  upon  the  enemy's  rear,  while  the  Second 
Michigan  were  dismounted  and  placed  behind  the  trees 
to  hold  the  centre.  The  riflemen  allowed  the  charging 
column  of  the  rebels  to  come  almost  upon  them,  when, 
still  clinging  to  their  cover,  they  poured  volley  after 
volley  into  their  faces  with  such  telling  effect  that  they 
wavered,  and  breaking,  fled  in  confusion.  Maddened 
by  their  severe  loss,  and  deeply  chagrined  at  this  un 
expected  failure,  the  rebel  officers  again  rally  their 
forces.  Again  the  "charge"  is  sounded,  and  down 
they  come  this  time  in  column,  determined  to  avenge 
their  misfortunes  at  any  cost  of  life.  As  they  near  our 
lines  death  is  again  meted  out  to  them  from  the  trusty 
rifles  of  our  nicely  covered  battle  line,  but  they  are  no 
cowards,  and  having  determined  to  "  do  or  die,"  they 
falter  not.  Again  and  again  is  sad  havoc  made  in  their 
ranks  by  the  gallant  Second  Michigan,  but  they  will 
not  stop,  and  their  advance  reaches  our  lines.  Our 
little  band,  hitherto  hidden  by  the  trees,  now  draw 
their  revolvers,  and  springing  into  the  road,  shoot  ev 
ery  rebel  as  soon  as  he  reaches  the  line.  Several  dead 
rebels  fell  through  the  lines,  but  not  a  live  one  was  ad 
mitted. 

While  this  was  transpiring  in  front,  companies  "  B  " 
and  "  F,"  of  the  Second  Iowa,  with  two  companies  of 
the  Second  Michigan,  gained  the  enemy's  rear  and  fu 
riously  charged  them  from  that  direction.  Capts  Queal 
and  Gilbert  distinguished  themselves  in  this  charge. 
Private  Win.  Myers,  of  company  "  I,"  who  had  volun 
tarily  joined  this  charge,  split  a  rebel's  head  open  with 
his  saber,  killing  him  instantly.  This  was  probably 


28  HISTORY    OF    THE 

the  first  rebel  killed  by  a  saber  by  our  regiment.  Pri 
vate  David  Lutz,  of  company  "I,"  also  volunteered  to 
join  this  charge,  and  lost  an  arm  in  the  hand  to  hand 
fight  that  ensued.  The  enemy's  loss  was  over  100, 
while  ours  was  less  than  one-fourth  of  that  number. 

We  moved  back  to  Rienzi  on  the  9th  of  July,  where 
we  remained  during  the  summer,  doing  ordinary  camp 
duty  and  scouring  the  country  for  fifty  miles  around 
for  guerrillas.  Peaches  were  abundant,  and  we  devour 
ed  them  as  soldiers  alone  could. 

On  the  26th  of  August,  while  company  "L"  was  on 
picket,  Gen.  Faulkner  attacked  our  camp  with  2,500 
cavalry.  So  impetuous  was  the  attack  upon  the  pick 
ets  that  they  were  run  in  without  being  able  to  give 
the  camp  the  alarm.  Faulkner  captured  six  of  com 
pany  "  L,"  and  then  charged  on  into  camp ;  but  at  his 
approach  the  boys  sprang  out  of  their  tents  and  gave 
him  such  a  warm  reception  that  he  quickly  commenced 
the  retreat.  While  a  part  of  the  regiment  repulsed 
Faulkner  dismounted,  the  balance  "  saddled  up "  and 
gave  chase  under  spur,  capturing  sixteen  of  the  enemy 
and  dispersing  the  remainder  in  every  direction. 


SECOND   IOWA   CAVALRY.  29 


CHAPTER   V. 

FALL  CAMPAIGN  OP  1862 — MARCH  TO  BOONVILLE — BATTLE  OP  IUKA — FIGHT  AT 
PAYTON'S  MILLS — ROSECRANS  AND  STANLY — BATTLE  OP  CORINTH — CAPTURE  OP 
FORT  ROBINETTE — PURSUIT  OF  REBELS— GZN.  ROSECRANS  ORDERED  TO  "  ARMY 
OP  THE  CUMBERLAND." 

On  the  5th  of  Sept.,  1862,  we  broke  camp  at  Bienzi 
and  commenced  our  fall  campaign.  Our  first  march 
was  to  Boonville,  whither  we  went  in  search  of  a  rebel 
column  under  Gen.  Price,  reported .  as  moving  north 
with  the  intention  of  breaking  through  our  lines  into 
the  rich  fields  of  Middle  Tennessee. 

At  Boonville  we  learned  that  Price  was  thus  moving 
and  that  luka  would  probably  be  his  point  of  attack. 
With  this  information  Col.  Hatch  returned  to  the  Gen. 
eral  commanding  as  rapidly  as  possible,  but  Price  had 
got  such  a  start  that  he  succeeded  in  capturing  luka 
before  Gen.  Grant  could  reinforce  the  garrison  there. 
Price  found,  however,  that  his  success  at  luka  came  far 
short  of  securing  for  him  the  coveted  storehouses  of 
Tennessee.  Grant  was  quickly  on  his  trail  in  two  col 
umns.  One  column,  commanded  by  Gen.  Ord,  was  to 
attack  Price  at  luka  from  the  North,  while  Rosecrans, 
with  9,000  men,  was  to  gain  his  rear  and  cut  off  his 
retreat.  The  Second  Iowa,  Lieut.-Col.  Hatch  com 
manding,  formed  a  part  of  Gen.  Rosecrans'  force. 

We  left  Jacinto  on  the  14th  of  September.  When 
within  twelve  miles  of  luka,  "  Rosie,"  as  the  army  fa- 


30  HISTORY    OF   THE 

miliarly  called  their  idolized  General,  halted,  and  for 
thirty-six  hours  we  anxiously  listened  for  the  sound  of 
Gen.  Ord's  cannon,  which  would  call  us  to  our  part  of 
the  work ;  but  we  listened  in  vain ;  the  other  column 
had  not  made  time.  Our  rations  were  entirely  ex 
hausted,  and  as  nothing  could  be  obtained  from  the 
surrounding  country,  but  one  course  remained  for  us — 
we  must  risk  the  chances  of  a  battle.  Accordingly 
Rosecrans  moved  forward  cautiously.  On  the  morn 
ing  of  the  19th  he  sent  Hatch  with  our  regiment  on  a 
reconnoissance  to  the  right.  When  twenty  miles  from 
the  main  column,  at  Payton's  Mills,  Hatch  came  upon 
Col.  Faulkner,  with  2,500  rebel  cavalry.  We  were 
much  better  armed  than  Faulkner's  men  and  defeated 
them  in  a  short  but  brisk  skirmish.  The  rebels  fled, 
leaving  the  field  with  fifteen  killed,  wounded  and  pris 
oners  in  our  hands.  Our  loss  was  nothing.  Later  in 
the  day  we  came  upon  a  rebel  camp  and  a  large  drove 
of  beef  cattle,  abandoned  by  the  rebels.  We  also 
captured  a  few  prisoners  at  this  place.  The  camp  and 
garrison  equipage  was  burned  for  want  of  transporta 
tion.  The  main  column,  under  Rosecrans,  struck  the 
rebel  lines  about  noon  and  pressed  them  back  slowly 
until  near  sundown.  Price  was  expecting  an  attack 
from  the  north,  and  hence  had  his  forces  mostly  sta 
tioned  on  that  side  of  town.  When  he  learned  of 
Rosecrans'  movement,  and  that  his  lines  on  the  south 
side  had  been  driven  back  to  near  the  town,  he  ordered 
his  forces  on  the  north  side  to  move  to  the  south  front 
on  the  double  quick.  The  Fifth  Iowa  infantry  was  in 
advance  of  Rosecrans7  army,  and  as  all  moved  along 
smoothly,  the  enemy  falling  slowly  back,  they  little 
dreamed  of  the  terrible  shock  just  before  them.  They 


SECOND   IOWA   CAVALRY.  31 

met  the  rapidly  advancing  column  under  Gen.  Price 
just  at  sunset,  and  it  is  beyond  the  power  of  pen  to 
describe  the  collision.  The  forces  met  in  a  forest  where 
the  ground  was  covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  un 
derbrush.  As  the  foliage  was  full,  neither  party  dis 
covered  the  other  until  within  close  pistol  range.  As 
the  best  mettle  of  both  armies  was  there,  the  fighting 
for  fierceness  and  desperation  is  equaled  by  few  con 
tests  in  the  annals  of  war.  The  earth  for  miles  around 
trembled  at  the  roar  of  firearms,  while  the  groans  of 
the  wounded  and  dying  were  enough  to  sicken  the  most 
resolute.  Night  with  her  sable  pall  was  fast  approach 
ing,  and  here  and  there  a  regiment  would  mistake  foe 
for  friend  and  not  learn  their  awful  error  until  they  re 
ceived  a  volley  from  their  supposed  friends  which 
would  almost  annihilate  them.  Thus  the  fight  raged 
until  pitch  darkness  enforced  her  mandate  to  cease  the 
fearful  slaughter.  Both  armies  now  fell  back  a  short 
distance,  and  the  field  was  under  a  flag  of  truce  during 
the  night,  the  ambulances  of  both  sides  being  busily 
engaged  in  carrying  off  the  wounded.  Our  regiment, 
returning  from  the  reconnoissance,  came  up  in  time  to 
hear  but  not  to  participate  in  the  engagement.  We 
camped  for  the  night  about  three  miles  from  the  field. 
We  were  very  weary  and  hungiy,  having  eaten  nothing 
for  twenty-four  hours,  and  marched  forty-five  miles  that 
day.  Nor  had  we  anything  with  which  to  appease  the 
gnawings  of  hunger  save  a  little  coffee,  which  we  hast 
ily  drank,  and  folded  in  our  blankets  we  were  soon  far 
away  'mid  the  fair  scenes  of  "dream  land."  Short, 
however,  was  our  repose,  for  before  10  o'clock  P.  M.  we 
were  aroused  and  summoned  to  "  the  front."  As  we 
moved  out  we  met  the  train.  With  many  misgivings 


32  HISTORY   OF  THE 

we  asked  of  the  teamsters  the  reports  of  the  battle 
thus  far.  All  agreed  that  the  slaughter  was  unparal 
leled  ;  that  the  Fifth  Iowa  had  left  half  their  number 
on  the  field,  and  that  the  victory  was  far  from  won. 
With  these  unwelcome  tidings  we  reached  the  front  and 
there  formed  a  line  of  battle,  when  we  dismounted  and 
were  ordered  to  " stand  to  horse"  until  daylight.  For 
hours  after  taking  our  position  here  a  continuous  train 
of  ambulances  passed  us,  loaded  with  the  mangled 
though  living  victims  from  the  field.  As  these  wretched 
beings  passed  us  their  agonizing  groans  called  to  our 
minds  anything  but  pleasant  reflections,  for  we  but 
awaited  the  light  of  day  to  ourselves  enter  the  field 
from  which  they  came,  and  we  "  knew  not  what  a  day 
might  bring  forth." 

About  midnight  Gen.  Rosecrans  called  a  council  of 
war  composed  of  brigade  commanders.  He  thus  ad 
dressed  this  meeting :  "  Generals,  we  move  at  daylight. 
The  infantry  will  go  in  on  the  bayonet ;  the  cavalry 
with  the  saber ;  not  a  shot  is  to  be  fired"  Gen.  Stanly 
was  not  at  this  meeting.  He  was  next  in  command 
under  Rosecrans,  and  a  favorite  of  that  General.  He 
was  sleeping  in  a  fence  corner  when  Rosecrans  came  up 
and  thus  addressed  him :  "  Stanly,  Stanly."  He 
awoke  and  replied,  "What  do  you  want,  Rosie?" 
"  You  will  go  in  at  sunrise  on  the  bayonet ;  not  a  shot 
is  to  be  fired."  "Our  loss  has  been  fearful,"  said 
Stanly.  "  They  are  five  to  our  one ;  they  have  butch 
ered  my  men  like  sheep."  Rosecrans  wrung  his  hands 
in  agony,  as  he  said,  "  Where,  in  the  name  of  God,  is 
Grant  ?  But  go  in  on  the  bayonet — don't  fire  a  shot." 
"  I  feel,"  said  Stanly,  "  that  I  shall  be  killed  to-morrow, 
but  your  order  shall  be  obeyed,"  and  folding  his  blanket 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY. 

about  him  he  again  fell  asleep.  Before  daylight  we 
had  made  a  strong  cup  of  coffee,  which  constituted  our 
breakfast,  and  with  the  early  dawn  the  lines  moved 
forward.  As  we  crossed  the  field  where,  on  the  previ 
ous  day,  the  red  tide  of  war  had  poured  its  flood,  the 
dead  of  both  armies  lay  indiscriminately  mingled,  al 
most  in  heaps,  on  every  hand.  The  reader  can  form 
some  idea  of  the  sanguinary  nature  of  the  strife  when 
I  tell  him  that  I  counted  forty-eight  ball  marks  in  one 
side  of  one  tree,  which  stood  near  where  the  two  col; 
unms  met.  The  smaller  saplings  were  so  riddled  by 
balls  as  to  be  killed. 

Not  meeting  the  foe  as  he  expected,  Eosecrans  order 
ed  Hatch  to  send  a  part  of  his  cavalry  in  advance  to 
reconnoiter  the  town.  Company  "  M,"  Second  Iowa, 
Lieut.  Foster  commanding,  was  selected  for  this  pur* 
pose.  Foster  moved  cautiously  forward  and  reached 
the  town  just  in  time  to  see  the  rebel  reaf  guard  leave 
it.  They  entered  on  the  charge,  and  were  the  first  f ed^ 
eral  troops  in  the  place.  They  found  the  houses  filled 
with  rebel  wounded;  The  federal  loss  in1  this  action 
was  about  600  ;  the  rebels  left  over  1,200  in  our  hands. 
The  Second  Iowa  took  the  advance  in  the  pursuit,  and 
BO  pressed  the  rebels  as  to  compel  the  abandonment  of 
a  part  of  their  train.  They  made  a  stand  about  2 
o'clock  P.  M.,  on  the  20th.  Col.  Hatch  quickly  formed 
his  regiment,  and  we  drove  them  from  their  position 
with  a  loss  of  two  men  Wounded,  when  we  were  order4 
ed  back  to'  Jacinto. 

Gens.  Price  and  Van  Dbrn  now  united  their  forces^ 
Van  Dorn  commanding,  and  again  moved  north  towards 
our  lines.  This,  of  course,  afforded  work  for  the  cav-' 
airy,  and  .we  were  kegt  in  the  saddle  most  of  the 


34  HISTORY    OF   THE 

night  and  day.  About  this  time  Lieut.-Col.  Hatch  re 
ceived  his  commission  as  Colonel,  and  was  given  com 
mand  of  a  brigade. 

On  the  1st  of  October  Van  Dorn  began  to ,  hover 
about  our  lines,  making  feint  attacks  upon  various 
points,  while  the  rich  storehouses  of  Corinth  were  the 
objective  points  aimed  at.  The  general  attack  was 
made  on  the  third  of  October.  Rosecrans  sent  but  a 
small  force  to  the  front  and  these  were  steadily  driven 
back  all  day,  and  at  night  Van  Dorn  bivouaced  within 
the  old  line  of  breastworks  made  by  Beauregard  for 
the  defense  of  Corinth.  The  Second  Iowa  were  pick 
eting  the  opposite  side  of  the  town  from  that  upon 
which  the  attack  was  made.  It  was,  therefore,  with 
many  misgivings  that  we  learned  that  our  forces  had 
retreated  all  day,  and  that  the  enemy  were  camped 
inside  the  breastworks.  Our  inexperienced  eyes  could 
not  descry  the  great  strength  of  the  forts  yet  to  be 
taken  before  Corinth  should  again  fall  under  confeder 
ate  rule.  But  our  sagacious  General,  Rosecrans,  knew 
his  business,  and  he  alone,  perhaps,  slept  that  night, 
free  from  any  forebodings  of  the  coming  struggle. 
With  the  early  dawn  of  the  morning  of  the  4th  of  Oc 
tober,  1862,  the  rebel  army  advanced,  confident  of  an 
easy  victory  and  a  choice  dinner  out  of  the  luxuries  of 
a  well-filled  U.  S.  commissary.  In  imagination  they 
already  drank  of  the  wine  and  coffee,  and  breakfasted 
on  the  flour  bread  and  choice  hams  before  them.  But 
alas !  for  coffee  they  were  to  be  served  tea  of  an  explo 
sive  nature,  and  grape  and  canister  awaited  them  for 
breakfast  instead  of  hot  cakes.  Fort  Robinette  com 
manded  the  entrance  to  the  town  from  the  west,  which 
was  the  direction  from  which  Van  Dorn  advanced.  As 


SECOND   IOWA   CAVALRY.  35 

<* 

the  rebels  approached  this  fort  the  siege  guns  mounted 
there  opened  upon  them  with  such  murderous  effect 
that  every  effort  on  the  part  of  the  officers  to  urge  their 
men  forward  proved  abortive.  Van  Dorn  soon  saw 
that  all  hope  of  success  lay  in  taking  and  holding  this 
fort ;  hence  he  made  an  appeal  to  his  men,  explaining 
the  importance  of  the  capture  of  the  fort,  and  then 
asked  for  a  general  officer  and  8,000  men  to  volunteer 
for  a  forlorn  charge  upon  these  works.  Brig.-Gen. 
Rogers  and  the  required  number  of  men  responded  to 
the  call  and  at  once  formed  for  the  mad  enterprise. 
On  came  the  assailing  force,  but  the  garrison  in  the 
fort  calmly  awaited  the  shock.  The  32-pound  siege 
guns  on  the  works  had  been  doubly  charged  by  shoving 
a  half  bushel  of  musket  balls  into  them  after  ramming 
down  the  cartridge.  When  the  enemy  were  within  a 
few  yards  these  guns  opened  upon  them.  Hundreds 
fell,  and  the  rest  broke  in  confusion ;  but  Gen.  Rogers 
and  his  men  had  resolved  to  take  the  fort  or  die  in  the 
attempt,  hence  they  again  formed,  this  time  in  platoon 
column.  As  they  advanced  they  displayed  a  solid  mass 
of  living,  maddened  valor,  heedlessly  rushing  to  a  fear 
ful  doom.  Again  the  match  was  applied,  and  again 
hundreds  fell  to  rise  no  more.  Again  and  again  are 
they  mowed  down  in  wholesale  slaughter,  still  on  they 
come  resistless  as  an  Alpine  avalanche,  and  in  spite  of 
their  numerous  dead  enough  live  to  scale  the  fort  and 
capture  tlie  guns.  The  rebel  flag-bearer  fell  just  as  he 
reached  the  ditch,  when  Gen.  Rogers  seized  the  flag 
and  planting  it  on  the  walls  of  the  fort,  shot  men  from 
the  breach  of  our  guns.  His  life,  however,  paid  for 
this  audacity,  for  he  fell  from  the  works  pierced  by 
over  fifty  balls.  The  rebels  now  sprang  over  the  em- 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


bankment,  and  elated  with  their  success,  they  filled  the 
paptured  fort  like  a  crowded  church.  Rosecrans  had 
prepared  for  this  emergency.  While  constructing  the 
defences  of  this  place  a  64-pound  mortar  had  been  so 
placed  on  the  east  of  the  town  as  to  command  not  only 
Fort  Robinette,  but  also  all  the  other  forts  around 
Corinth.  No  sooner  was  the  fort  filled  with  the  exul 
tant  foe  thai;  this  mortar  opened,  and  a  huge  shell  was 
dropped  in  their  midst.  It  exploded  and  literally 
blowed  tJiem  from  the  fort.  Our  Chaplain,  Rev.  Wm. 
Truesdale,  told  me  that  he  viewed  the  effect  of  this  ex 
plosion  by  the  aid  of  a  field  glass,  and  that  fragments 
of  the  wretched  victims  could  be  seen  twenty  feet  in 
air.  The  Second  Iowa  infantry  followed  this  explosion 
with  a  bayonet  charge,  and  tjie  fort  was  again  in  federal 
hands. 

Van  Dorn  now  withdrew  his  shattered  forces,  leav 
ing  the  field  with  the  killed  and  wounded  of  the  enemy 
in  our  hands.  Lieut.  Jacob  F.  Bandy,  of  the  Second 
Iowa  cavalry,  was  detailed  to  superintend  the  burying, 
and  his  reports  show  that  he  found  a  little  over  300 
Union  dead  on  the  field,  and  over  1,300  confederate 
dead.  The  cause  of  this  great  disparity  in  the  number 
killed  on  a  side  was  traceable  to  the  fact  that  our  forces 
fought  from  behind  good  cover,  whereas  the  rebels  had 
to  advance  across  an  open  field  upon  an  abattis.  The 
rout  of  Van  Born's  army  amounted  almost  to  a  stam 
pede,  and  everything  that  could  in  any  way  impede 
their  march  was  abandoned  by  them.  We  followed 
them  as  far  as  Ripley,  picking  up  many  prisoners,  an4 
then  returned  to  Corintji,  which  place  we  reached  on 
£he  13th  of  October. 

Gena  Rosecrans  was  now  taken  from  us  and  sent  tg 


SECOND   IOWA   CAVALRY.  87 

the  "  Army  of  tlie  Cumberland."  His  loss  was  deeply 
lamented  by  the  entire  army,  who  had  learned  to  re.- 
pose  great  confidence  in  him  as  a  brave,  sagacious  and 
very  successful  General.  I  should  have  mentioned  that 
the  First  and  Second  battalions  of  the  Second  Iowa 
acted  as  couriers  and  provost  guard  in  the  battle  of 
Corinth.  Much  of  Gen.  Rosecrans'  success  in  battle 
was  attributable  to  his  excellent  provost  regulations, 
which  compelled  every  soldier  to  keep  his  post  and 
jkept  an  army  of  stragglers  from  seeking  tfye  rear. 


38  HISTORY   OF   THE 


CHAPTER    VI. 

CHANGE  IN  COMMANDERS — GRANT'S  CAMPAIGN  INTO  MISSISSIPPI — CAVALRY  RAID 
ON  HOLLY  SPRINGS — COMPANY  "A's"  CAPTURES — SCOUT  TO  RIPLEY — SECOND 
MOVE  TO  HOLLY  SPRINGS — FIGHT  AT  YOCONA  RIVER — FIGHT  AT  WATER  VAL 
LEY — EXPLOITS  OF  COMPANY  "  K  "— COFFEE  VILLE  FIGHT — COL.  DICKEY — RAID 
TO  OKOLONA — VAN  CORN'S  RAID — SECOND  COFFEEVILLE  AND  SECOND  OKOLONA 

RAID. 

*t- 

Gen.  Franklin  now  assumed  command  of  Rosecrans' 
old  army  under  Gen.  Grant,  department  commander. 
Major  W.  P.  Hepburn  was  promoted  to  Lieut.-Colonel 
in  place  of  Hatch,  promoted,  and  Frank  Kendrick,  Cap 
tain  company  "E,"  to  Major,  in  place  of  Hepburn, 
promoted,  while  Lieut.  Schnetger,  acting  regimental 
Adjutant,  was  commissioned  Captain  of  company  "  E." 
Lieut.-Col.  Hepburn  was  away  on  detail  as  staff  officer 
for  Rosecrans;  hence  as  Col.  Hatch  commanded  the 
brigade,  the  command  of  the  regiment  devolved  on 
Major  Datus  E.  Coon. 

We  left  Corinth  for  Grand  Junction,  acting  as  ad 
vance  guard  of  Grant's  army,  November  2d,  1862. 
We  reached  Grand  Junction  on  the  4th.  On  the  12th, 
Col.  Lee,  of  the  7th  Kansas  cavalry,  commanding  our 
division,  started  on  a  reconnoissance  to  Holly  Springs. 
Lee  divided  his  forces  into  two  columns.  The  right 
was  under  his  own  immediate  command,  while  Col. 
Hatch  commanded  the  left.  There  was  some  skirmish 
ing  in  front  of  both  columns  all  day.  Hatch  camped 
for  the  night  at  Hudson ville.  Company  "A,"  Capt. 


SECOND   IOWA   CAVALRY.  39 

Charles  C.  Horton  commanding,  was  placed  on  picket 
on  the  Holly  Springs  road.  Soon  after  dark  a  rebel 
patrol  party  came  up,  and  Horton  with  his  company 
succeeded  in  so  fooling  them  that  the  Lieut,  command 
ing  and  the  entire  company  were  induced  to  come  with 
in  our  lines,  where  they  were  all  captured.  They 
mistook  Capt.  Horton  for  a  confederate  officer  and  did 
not  learn  this  error  until  escape  was  impossible. 

On  the  13th  we  went  to  Holly  Springs,  from  which 
place  we  drove  a  small  rebel  force.  Here  Lieut.  Foster, 
commanding  company  "  M,"  was  sent  out  on  the  Wa- 
terford  road  to  picket  and  patrol.  He  was  soon  at 
tacked  by  an  Alabama  regiment.  So  gallantly  did 
Foster  and  his  little  band  resist  the  attack  that  in  a 
sharp  fight  of  two  hours  which  ensued,  the  rebels  were 
compelled  to  retire.  Lee  returned  to  camp  at  Grand 
Junction  on  the  14th. 

On  the  19th  Col.  Hatch  was  ordered  to  proceed  with 
his  brigade  to  Bipley,  Miss.,  where  Col.  Faulkner  was 
organizing  a  rebel  cavalry  command.  We  charged  the 
town  at  daylight  on  the  20th.  The  rebels  scattered  in 
all  directions,  and  the  day  was  spent  scouring  the  sur 
rounding  country  for  confederate  soldiers,  horses  and 
mules.  We  captured  thirty  soldiers,  including  Faulk 
ner's  Lieut.-Col.  and  a  Major.  We  also  picked  up  over 
sixty  horses  and  mules. 

On  the  28th  of  November  Grant  commenced  his  for 
ward  movement  into  central  Mississippi,  designed  to 
result  in  the  capture  of  Vicksburg.  Our  division  of 
cavalry  was  in  advance.  We  drove  the  rebels  through 
Holly  Springs  on  the  29th,  and  pressed  them  back  to 
their  fortifications  on  the  Tallahatchie  river.  Artillery 
was  freely  used  on  both  sides,  and  our  division  dis- 


40'  IltSTOKY    OF   THE 

mounted  and  captured  one  of  the  rebel  cannon.  CoL- 
Hatch  barely  escaped  death  here  from  the  ball  of  a 
rebel  sharp-shooter,  which  cut  a  limb  just  by  his  head. 
The  rebels  had  very  strong  works  on  the  Tallahatchie 
at  this  point,  which  would  have  defied  any  attack  from 
the  front.  Grant  compelled  the  evacuation  of  the 
works  by  a  flank  movement. 

On  the  morning  of  December  2d  Hatch  crossed  the' 
Tallahatchie  with  Ms  brigade,  the  boys  leading  their 
horses  over  on  a  frail  bridge  constructed  for  the  pur-' 
pose.  Col.  Lee  was  already  in  Oxford,  where  we  joined 
him.  We  moved  south  at  daylight  on  the  3d,  Hatch 
having  the  advance,  the  Seventh  Illinois  cavalry  being 
advance  guard.  Soon  after  setting  out  the  Seventh  Il 
linois  came  upon  a  company  of  the  enemy  left  back  by 
Gen.  Van  Dorn  to  destroy  the  bridges'  and  burn  the 
cotton  before  our  column.  This  company  was  surpris 
ed  and  all  captured  but  three.  Small  squads  of  pris 
oners  wrere  now  picked  up  on  every  hand,  and  at  the 
close  of  the  day's  march  Hatch  had  103  to  turn  over.- 
Van  Dorn  made"  a  stand  on  the  Yocona  river,  just  at 
the  close  of  day.-  A  sharp  skirmish  ensued  in  which 
the  'Tth  Illinois  alone  participated  on  our  side.  They 
lost  one  killed  and  two  wounded*-  The  rebels  left  tenv 
wounded  in  the  village  of  Springdale  near  where  the 
skirmish  took  place.  Hatch  now  fell  back  to  a  neigh* 
boring  plantation  and  camped  for  the  night.  At  3 
o'clock  A.  M.  on  the  following  day  we  were  again  in  the 
saddle.  Hatch  had  taken  the  precaution  before  bivou* 
acing  to  send  a  company  down  the  river  to  a  bridge, 
and  the  result  attested  his  wisdom  ija-  so  doing,  for  at 
the  bridge  in  question  this  patrol  found  a  rebel  detail 
had  been  sent  there  to  destroy  this  means  of  cross- 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  41 

ing.     They  drove  away  the  detail  and  picketed  the 
bridge  until  our  column  reached  there. 

The  Second  Iowa  was  now  put  in  advance,  company 
"  K,"  Capt.  Chas.  P.  Moore  commanding,  acting  as  ad 
vance  guard.  We  had  pursued  our  course  but  a  short, 
distance  beyond  the  bridge  when  the  advance  videttes 
discovered  the  pickets  of  the  enemy  upon  a  distant 
hill.  Lieut.  P.  L.  Reed,  commanding  advance  platoon, 
ordered  them  to  charge  the  post.  The  boys  dashed 
forward,  but  just  now  two  men  were  seen  coming  to 
wards  our  column  from  the  enemy's  pickets  in  a  slow 
trot.  The  videttes  supposing  these  men  to.  be  desert 
ers  held  their  fire  and  met  them  face  to  face,  when  they 
learned  that  their  prisoners — for  such  they  now  were — 
were  the  Lieut,  and  Sergt.  of  the  rebel  guard,  and  that 
they  mistook  our  column  for  a  confederate  force ;  hence 
the  blunder  which  resulted  in  their  capture.  As  the 
videttes  neared  the  pickets  they  fled  without  even  the 
show  of  a  ficrht.  Two  more,  however,  were  thrown 

O  /  / 

from  their  saddles,  and  captured  by  our  men. 

We  now  moved  rapidly  forward  until  we  came  in 
sight  of  Water  Valley,  when  we  saw  rebel  stragglers 
in  every  direction.  Lieut.  Reed  saw  a  small  squad  of 
the  enemy  across  the  field  to  our  front  and  left,  and 
ordered  four  men  from  the  advance  guard  to  gallop 
across  the  field  and  capture  them.  Privates  Demais 
Ryon,  Wm.  Moter,  John  Canterbury  and  John  Stathers 
responded  to  this  call.  Canterbury  found  four  prison 
ers  in  a  house,  on  his  way  to  the  squad  -after  which  he 
started,  hence  he  returned  with  these  to  the  column, 
while  Stathers,  misunderstanding  the  order,  charged 
unsupported  into  the  town  of  Water  Valley,  and  was 
killed.  This  left  only  Ryon  and  Moter  to  deal  with 


42  HISTORY    OF    THE 

the  squad  first  seen.  They  spurred  on,  however,  to  a 
clump  of  brush,  behind  which  the  squad  in  question  had 
disappeared.  What  was  their  surprise  upon  reaching 
the  edge  of  the  brush,  to  find  instead  of  three  or  four 
as  they  supposed,  eighteen  rebels  all  armed  with  Enfield 
rifles  !  As  they  were  face  to  face  with  the  foe,  retreat 
was  out  of  the  question ;  hence  they  took  a  bolder  and 
more  successful  course.  Leveling  their  carbines  upon 
the  breasts  of  the  two  in  advance,  Ryon  in  a  command 
ing  tone  ordered  the  squad  to  "drop  their  arms  and 
surrender"  Overawed  by  the  boldness  of  their  con- 
fronters,  they  all  obeyed  the  summons,  and  quick  as 
thought  the  boys  placed  themselves  between  their  pris 
oners  arid  their  arms,  and  marched  them  in  safety  to 
our  column.  Capt.  Moore  afterwards  made  a  detail  to 
go  and  destroy  the  arms  of  these  prisoners,  and  they 
found  seventeen  out  of  the  eighteen  guns  loaded. 
While  this  scene  was  transpiring  two  rebel  officers  were 
discovered  leisurely  riding  towards  us  on  the  Spring- 
dale  road.  As  they  came  up  Lieut.  Reed  ordered  them 
under  guard.  They  did  not  yet  comprehend  the  true 
condition  of  affairs,  but  still  supposing  us  rebels  they 
thought  that  they  had  been  "put  in  arrest "  by  order 
of  some  confederate  officer.  Nor  did  they  learn  their 
mistake  until  in  answer  to  questions  propounded  by 
Lieut.  Reed  and  Col.  Hatch,  they  had  revealed  many 
of  the  secrets  of  their  army.  Among  other  things 
they  told  where  Van  Dora's  headquarters  train  was, 
which  we  at  once  proceeded  to  capture.  These  officers 
proved  to  be  a  Captain  and  R.  Q.  M.,  and  a  Lieutenant 
and  A.  D.  C.  on  Van  Dora's  staff.  Companies  "  K  " 
and  "  C  "  now  led  a  charge  upon  the  town,  where  they 
captured  several  more  prisoners.  The  captures  of  these 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALKY.  43 

companies,  before  8  o'clock  A.  M.,  summed  up  as  fol 
lows,  viz  :  Four  commissioned  officers,  thirty-nine  en 
listed  men ;  also  fifteen  mules  and  four  wagons,  loaded 
with  Van  Dora's  headquarters  baggage. 

The  rebels  were  greatly  surprised  at  our  presence  at 
the  place  where  we  made  the  attack,  for  it  was  almost 
in  their  rear.  When  Van  Dorn  learned  of  our  opera 
tions  he  dispatched  six  regiments  of  cavalry  to  the 
scene  of  conflict.  These  attacked  us  about  11  o'clock 
A.  M.  A  very  spirited  conflict  of  two  hours'  duration 
ensued,  the  rebels  striving  hard  to  regain  their  losses 
of  the  morning ;  but  Col.  Hatch  dispatched  company 
u  M,"  Lieut.  Hamilton  commanding,  back  to  the  bridge 
across  the  Yocona  river,  and  then  with  the  rest  of  the 
brigade  he  safely  returned  with  the  prisoners  and  plun 
der.  Among  our  wounded  in  this  action  were  Lieut. 
Reed  and  Sergt.  Fickel,  of  company  "  K ;"  also,  one 
man  killed  and  one  wounded  from  company  "  A." 

At  the  close  of  this  action  one  company,  Capt.  Moore 
commanding,  was  sent  back  to  Oxford  with  the  prison, 
ers,  150  in  number,  while  the  rest  of  the  division  fol 
lowed  the  retreating  foe  to  CofFeeville.  Col.  Dickey, 
of  the  Fourth  Illinois  cavalry,  was  now  with  us,  and 
being  senior  officer  and  chief  of  cavalry,  he  was  in 
command. 

At  Coffeeville,  the  county  seat  of  Yallabusha  county, 
Miss.,  Van  Dorn  made  a  determined  stand,  bringing 
his  entire  force  of  infantry,  artillery  and  cavalry  into 
a  line  of  battle  to  oppose  our  further  advance.  The 
cavalry  division,  now  commanded  by  Col.  Dickey,  had 
already  driven  Van  Dorn  sixty  miles  without  the  aid 
of  infantry  support,  and  had  sent  1,500  of  his  forces  to 
the  rear  as  prisoners.  Dickey's  command  numbered 


44  HISTORY    OF    THE 

but  2,500  strong;  Van  Dorn  commanded  over  four  times 
this  number,  and  now  tliat  he  had  formed  his  line  of 
battle  on  advantageous  ground,  Cols.  Lee  and  Hatch 
both  demurred  to  Col.  Dickey's  order  to  advance. 
But  like  most  commanders  who  do  little  fighting  them 
selves,  he  was  immovable  in  his  determination  to  fight 
Van  Dorn  there ;  hence  he  ordered  the  command  for 
ward.  Lee  had  the  advance,  and  he  made  the  attack 
with  great  coolness,  but  so  overwhelming  were  the  odds 
against  him  that  his  brave  followers  were  forced  back, 
and  their  artillery  came  very  near  being  captured.  One 
battalion  of  the  Second  Iowa,  under  Major  Love,  was 
detached  as  guard  for  Col.  Lee's  battery,  which  con 
sisted  of  a  part  of  the  Second  Illinois  artillery.  This 
battalion,  consisting  of  companies  "  B,"  "D,"  "F" 
and  "I,"  saved  the  battery  by  repulsing  a  desperate 
charge  from  a  greatly  superior  force  of  rebel  infantry. 
As  Col.  Lee  fell  back  Col.  Hatch  brought  his  brigade 
to  his  support,  and  by  dint  of  hard  fighting  they  sue 
ceeded  in  making  good  their  retreat.  But  I  should  no1 
fail  to  state  that  no  sooner  did  Col.  Dickey  see  his 
forces  overpowered  than  he  discovered  that  his  presence 
was  needed  at  the  rear,  whither  he  went,  leaving  Cols 
Lee  and  Hatch  to  get  the  forces  out  as  best  they  could 
The  loss  of  the  Second  Iowa  in  this  encounter  was 
twenty-two.  We  now  fell  back  to  the  Yocono  river 
where  we  waited  the  arrival  of  the  infantry. 

On  the  14th  of  December,  1862,  Dickey  again  lefi 
camp  on  Yocona,  with  our  division  of  cavalry,  anc 
moving  southeast  we  soon  struck  the  Mobile  and  Ohic 
railroad  at  Tupello,  Miss.  The  Second  Iowa,  Majoi 
Coon  commanding,  made  a  dash  upon  Camargo  station 
which  place  they  reached  in  time  to  fire  into,  but  1101 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALKY.  45 

to  capture,  the  .  southern  bound  train  of  cars.  The 
railroad  was  reduced  to  a  complete  wreck,  after  which 
we  dashed  into  Okolona,  where  we  burned  ten  thousand 
bushels  of  confederate  corn  and  a  large  amount  of  com 
missary  stores,  and  captured  thirty  prisoners.  With 
these  prisoners  we  returned  to  the  main  column  near 
Pontotoc. 

As  the  column  passed  Pontotoc  on  their  homeward 
march,  we  learned  that  a  cavalry  force  of  10,000  strong, 
under  Van  Dorn,  had  passed  there  but  one  hour  before, 
on  their  way  to  Grant's  base  of  supplies  at  Holly 
Springs.  Our  force,  though  too  small  to  defeat  Van 
Dorn  with  his  10,000  followers,  was  yet  amply  strong 
to  harrass  and  detain  him  until  notice  could  be  given 
the  garrison  at  Holly  Springs  of  his'  approach,  and 
proper  means  of  defense  employed.  Hatch  wished  to 
pursue  this  course,  but  Dickey  would  not  allow  it,  and 
we  rapidly  moved  towards  our  camp,  leaving  Van  Dorn 
to  go  his  way  undisturbed.  The  result  of  this  blunder 
was  the  success  of  Van  Dorn  at  Holly  Springs,  and 
the  consequent  abandonment  of  the  campaign  by  Gen. 
Grant.  Dickey  now  threw  up  his  commission,  and  the 
next  we  learned  of  him  he  was  making  copperhead 
speeches  in  Illinois,  a  business  for  which  he  was  much 
better  fitted  than  a  leader  of  cavalry  raids. 

On  the  21st  of  December,  1862,  our  brigade,  Col. 
Hatch  commanding,  was  again  on  the  move.  We 
reached  Coffeeville  on  the  22d,  and  there  commenced 
destroying  the  Mississippi  Central  railroad.  We  were 
now  the  rear  guard  of  Grant's  retreating  army.  We 
reduced  the  road  to  a  complete  wreck  as  far  back  as  to 
the  Tallahatchie  river. 

On  the  25th  Hatch  again  started  in  the  direction 


46  HlbTORY    OF   THE 

of  Okolona  with  a  view  of  trying  to  intercept  Vai 
Dora's  march,  for  he  was  now  retreating  before  Col 
Lee.  We  could  not  overtake  the  rapidly  retreating 
i*ebel  force,  however,  and  returned  to  cainp,  whicl 
place  we  reached  on  the  28th.  We  were  in  great  neec 
of  rest,  as  the  reader  will  readily  believe  when  tolc 
that  our  marches  for  the  last  thirty  days  had  averagec 
forty-one  and  a  half  miles  per  day.  We  fell  back  tc 
La  Grange,  Tenn.,  where  we  went  into  winter  quarters 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  47 


CHAPTER   VII. 

FIRST  BRIDGE  BURNING  RAID  IN  1863— GRIERSON  RAID — FIOHT  AT  PALO  ALTO 
AND  BIRMINGHAM — EXPLOITS  OF  COMPANY  "  G  " — EXPLOITS  or  MILLS  ANI* 
OTHERS  OF  COMPANY  "A" — CROSSING  TIPPAH  RIVER — LOYALTY  or  BLACKS — 
SKNATOBIA  TRIP — GKN.  CHALMER'S  HOOPED  SKIRT  AND  CORN  COB  PIPK. 

On  the  10th  of  March,  1863,  the  Second  Iowa,  Col. 
Hatch  commanding,  started  on  the  first  raid  of  our 
spring  campaign.  The  object  of  the  raid  was  the  des 
truction  of  a  railroad  bridge  across  the  Tallahatchie 
river,  near  Waterford.  The  bridge  was  reached  on 
the  llth  and  burned.  A  large  supply  of  lead  which 
had  been  collected  there  to  be  transported  to  rebel  ar 
mories,  was  also  destroyed.  Hatch  then  turned  towards 
camp.  We  bivouaced  for  the  night  of  the  12th  three 
miles  south  of  Holly  Springs.  We  had  been  in  the 
saddle  near  all  the  time  thirty-six  hours  previous  to 
this  halt,  and  were  hence  much  needing  repose.  We 
were  not  to  be  allowed  to  take  it,  however,  that  night, 
for  scarcely  was  our  supper  over  before  a  citizen  living 
near  Waterford  came  into  camp,  and  voluntarily  inform 
ed  Col.  Hatch  that  Brig.-Gen.  Chalmers,  with  his  brig 
ade,  and  Col.  Faulkner,  with  his  regiment,  and  a 
battalion  of  Texas  Legions,  had  prepared  an  ambuscade 
for  us  in  a  swamp  between  our  camp  and  Holly  Springs. 
As  Hatch  had  no  ambulances  along,  or  other  conven 
iences  for  caring  for  the  wounded,  which  he  must  ex 
pect  to  have  if  he  gave  battle,  he  determined  to  give 


48  HISTOEY    OF    THE 

these  watchers  the  go  by ;  hence  he  directed  us  to  sad 
dle  up  and  move  out  in  silence,  and  by  the  guidance  of 
the  citizen  who  had  warned  him  of  his  danger,  he  made 
a  successful  circuit  around  the  ambushed  foe,  and  by 
marching  all  night  and  all  the  next  day,  we  reached 
camp  in  safety,  though  much  exhausted,  having  been  in 
the  saddle  nearly  all  the  time  for  three  days  and  two 
nights.  The  citizen  who  told  us  of  this  ambuscade  was 
afterwards  arrested  by  the  confederates,  and  came  very 
near  paying  for  his  patriotism  with  his  life.  His  gold, 
however,  saved  him.  After  this  a  battalion  of  the  reg 
iment  was  kept  on  patrol  all  the  time  after  Col.  Street 
and  his  guerrilla  band,  which  then  infested  the  vicinity 
of  La  Grange.  During  the  month  of  March  the  Sec 
ond  Iowa  marched  350  miles  and  captured  a  large 
number  of  horses  and  a  goodly  number  of  prisoners, 
without  loss.  We  were  kept  busily  employed  in  these 
lesser  raids  until  the  17th  of  April,  1863. 

Col.  Hatch  had  now  prepared  to  move  with  the  brig 
ade  down  through  Central  Mississippi,  to  the  rear  of 
Vicksburg,  cut  the  railroad  communications  with  the 
rebel  army  there,  and  then  move  on  through  to  the 
federal  lines  of  the  "  Department  of  the  Gulf."  The 
orders  for  this  march  were  circulated  on  the  afternoon 
of  the  16th  of  April;  the  column  was  to  move  at  3 
o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  17th.  The  midnight 
train  that  night  brought  to  us  Col.  B.  H.  Grierson,  of 
the  Sixth  Illinois  cavalry,  who  had  been  to  Illinois  on 
furlough.  As  his  commission  was  older  than  that  of 
Hatch's,  he  assumed  command  of  the  expedition,  and 
Col.  H.  took  command  of  the  Second  Iowa. 

On  the  18th  Hatch  left  Grierson,  and  moved  through 
Ripley  and  Molino,  where  he  had  a  slight  skirmish 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  49 

with  Smith's  regiment  of  Partisan  Kangers;  thence 
southwest  forming  a  junction  with  Col.  Grierson,  on  the 
19th,  five  miles  below  Pontotoc,  Miss.  There  Major 
Love  was  detached  with  a  portion  of  the  regiment  to 
return  to  La  Grange.  This  reduced  Hatch's  command 
to  about  500  men.  The  brigade  now  moved  in  one 
column  until  they  reached  the  junction  of  the  roads 
leading  to  Louisville,  West  Point  and  Columbus.  Here 
Col.  Grierson,  with  the  Sixth  and  Seventh  Illinois  cav 
alry,  and  three  2-pound  cannon,  moved  southward,  while 
Hatch,  with  the  Second  Iowa  and  one  2-pound  cannon, 
moved  towards  Columbus.  He  sent  company  "  E,"  of 
the  Second  Iowa,  with  the  cannon,  a  short  distance  on 
the  road  taken  by  Grierson.  This  patrol  returned  in 
column  of  fours,  thus  obliterating  all  the  outward 
bound  tracks.  The  cannon  was  turned  in  the  road  in 
four  different  places,  thus  making  their  tracks  corres 
pond  with  the  four  pieces  of  artillery  which  Grierson 
had  with  the  expedition.  The  object  of  this  was  to 
deceive  the  rebels,  who  were  following  us,  into  the  be 
lief  that  the  entire  column  had  taken  the  Columbus 
road.  The  ruse  worked  well.  Hatch  now  moved  to 
Palo  Alto,  where  he  halted  and  fed. 

The  enemy,  under  Gen.  Golson,  had  been  massing  in 
our  rear  with  a  view  of  capturing  us  while  crossing  the 
Hooka  river.  Our  column  had  been  inspected  at  every 
house  we  passed  by  women  and  old  men,  and  from 
these  Gen.  Golson  had  learned  our  exact  strength  and 
kind  of  arms.  He  had  with  him  Srnith'k  partisan  reg 
iment,  Bartoe's  regiment  and  Inge's  battalion,  while  an 
Alabama  regiment,  with  artillery,  was  in  our  front. 
The  principal  object  of  Hatch's  movement  was  to  de 
coy  this  force  to  the  east,  and  thus  give  Grierson  time 


50  HISTOKY    OF   THE 

to  get  well  under  way.  We  moved  from  our  bivouac  at 
Palo  Alto  about  noon  on  the  21st  of  April.  While  we 
were  halted  there  Golson  had  arrived  with  his  force  at 
the  junction  of  the  roads,  and  patroled  the  road  taken 
by  Grierson  until  convinced  that  the  column  had  all 
taken  the  Columbus  road,  when  he  moved  in  that  di 
rection.  He  reached  Palo  Alto  and  made  the  attack 
just  as  we  were  moving  out,  while  company  "  E,"  which 
had  just  arrived,  was  yet  unbridled.  Company  "  H  " 
was  on  picket.  They  gallantly  repulsed  the  first 
charge  made  by  the  rebels,  and  aided  by  company 
"  E,"  held  the  enemy  in  check  until  Hatch  could  form 
a  line,  which  he  did  in  the  edge  of  timber,  where  his 
men,  being  covered  by  the  trees,  could  command  with 
their  rifles  the  open  field  in  their  front,  across  which 
the  enemy  must  advance.  Our  little  cannon  was  placed 
in  a  favorable  position  and  did  good  service,  notwith 
standing  the  rebels  had  made  their  brags  'at  a  house  at 
the  edge  of  the  field  that  they  wanted  but  three  min 
utes  in  which  to  capture  it. 

The  rebels  formed  beyond  rifle  range,  and  came  down 
on  a  charge.  Our  boys  kept  the  cover  of  the  trees 
until  they  were  within  short  range,  when  they  opened 
upon  them  such  a  murderous  fire  from  their  trusty  re 
volving  rifles  that  they  were  not  only  repulsed,  but 
stampeded  and  scattered  all  over  the  woods.  The 
rebels  acknowledged  a  loss  of  twenty-five  in  this  skir 
mish,  and  citizens  said  their  loss  was  much  heavier. 
Owing  to  the  "completeness  of  our  cover  not  a  drop  oi 
Yankee  blood  was  shed. 

Hatch  now  moved  north  until  near  the  Tippah  river, 
where  the  rebels  were  waiting  for  us  at  the  ford,  when 
he  took  across  a  field  to  the  right.  We  marched  for  a 


SECOND   IOWA    CAVALRY.  51 

long  distance  without  a  road  of  any  kind.  When  we 
came  to  a  ditch  the  boys  would  lift  the  cannon  over 
by  hand.  The  naked  gun  weighed  140  pounds,  and 
the  carriage  could  be  so  taken  apart  that  the  gun  was 
heavier  than  any  piece  about  it.  We  soon  entered  a 
a  large  swamp,  through  which  we  traveled  by  an  ob 
scure  path,  guided  by  a  negro  until  we  struck  the 
river  some  miles  below  the  ford  the  rebels  were  guard 
ing.  Here  Hatch  found  some  flood-wood  lodged 
against  a  fallen  tree  ;  with  this  he  constructed  a  rude 
foot-bridge,  and  we  unsaddled  our  horses  and  each 
trooper  carried  his  saddle  across  the  bridge  on  his  back. 
The  bank  on  the  side  from  which  the  horses  must  enter 
was  about  six  feet  above  the  stream  and  very  nearly 
perpendicular.  Three  or  four  troopers  would  seize  each 
horse  and  throw  him  into  the  stream,  when  they  would, 
by  the  aid  of  long  poles,  compel  him  to  swim  to  the 
opposite  bank,  where  two  men  stood  hip  deep  in  water 
to  aid  him  up  the  bank.  In  this  way  the  entire  com 
mand  was  crossed  in  safety,  between  the  hours  of  10 
o'clock  P.  M.,  and  3  o'clock  A.  M.,  of  as  dark  a  night  as 
I  ever  experienced.  Large  bonfires  were  built  on  each 
bank  to  expel  the  darkness.  The  cannon  was  taken  to 
pieces  and  hauled  across  by  means  of  a  rope.  As  soon 
as  the  column  was  all  over,  we  saddled  up  and  moved 
out,  and  before  daylight  we  were  several  miles  in  the 
rear  of  the  rebel  force  stationed  at  the  ford. 

We  moved  towards  Okolona,  where  the  rebels  had 
eight  pieces  of  artillery,  but  so  completely  had  Hatch 
fooled  them  as  to  the  objective  point  of  his  march,  that 
the  enemy,  designed  for  support  for  their  guns,  had 
been  all  despatched  to  various  points  to  oppose  us,  and 
now  that  we  were  rapidly  nearing  Okolona,  they  were 


52  HISTORY   OF   THE 

obliged  to  run  their  cannon  South  for  safety.  We 
charged  into  the  town  just  before  sunset,  where  we 
burned  thirty  barracks  filled  with  Confederate  British 
stamped  cotton.  This  done  we  moved  five  miles  out  of 
town  and  camped  for  the  night  on  a  wealthy  plantation, 
which  afforded  everything  we  needed  both  for  animals 
and  men.  We  were  in  the  saddle  early  on  the  morning 
of  the  23d,  and  before  noon  we  had  marched  to  all 
points  of  the  compass,  thus  baffling  all  attempts  on  the 
part  of  the  enemy  to  keep  track  of  us.  Most  of  this 
day  and  the  next  were  spent  in  skirmishing  through  the 
large  swamps,  in  which  Central  Mississippi  everywhere 
abounds.  These  swamps  were  filled  with  horses  and 
mules  which  had  been  run  there  by  the  affrighted  citi 
zens,  and  placed  in  charge  of  their  most  trusty  servants, 
to  keep  them  from  the  hated  Yankees.  These  servants, 
with  commendable  shrewdness,  pretended  to  credit  all 
the  tales  of  horror,  relative  to  Yankee  deeds  of  barbar 
ity  to  the  blacks,  told  them  by  their  masters  in  order  to 
deter  them  from  leaving  with  our  forces.  Now  that  we 
were  where  these  fellows  could  claim  our  protection, 
however,  they  threw  off  the  mask,  and  hurrying  to  us, 
proffered  their  services  as  guides  to  the  coverts  of  these 
animals,  gladly  accepting  our  offer  of  the  privilege  of 
accompanying  us  and  leading  our  captured  stock.  In 
this  way  we  soon  accumulated  600  head  of  horses  and 
mules,  with  about  200  able  bodied  negroes  to  lead 
them.  As  the  colored  women  and  children  could  not 
be  taken  along,  they  expressed  their  feeling  towards  us 
by  running  out  to  the  road,  as  we  passed,  with  a  bowl 
of  milk  or  a  pone  of  corn  bread  and  slice  of  meat,  and 
the  heartfelt  De  Good  Lord  bless  you,  Massa,  which  ac 
companied  these  offerings,  left  no  room  to  doubt  their 


SECOND   IOWA   CAVALEY.  53 

loyalty  to  our  cause.  They  did  not  understand  all  the 
ininutia  of  the  acts  of  our  Government  relative  to  their 
condition  as  slaves,  but  all  believed  that  their  freedom 
from  bondage  in  some  way  depended  on  the  success  of 
our  arms,  hence  they  were  anxious  to  aid  us  in  any  way 
in  their  power. 

When  the  attack  was  made  on  us  at  Palo  Alto,  1st 
Serg't  A.  R.  Clark,  company  "  G,"  with  twenty-five 
men  was  on  the  flank  in  search  of  horses.  They  cap 
tured  thirty  horses  and  as  many  negroes  and  returned 
to  the  road  where  they  expected  to  find  the  column, 
when  to  their  surprise  they  found  that  during  their  ab 
sence  the  Palo  Alto  skirmish  had  taken  place,  and  that 
Hatch  was  gone,  they  knew  not  whither,  while  they 
were  in  the  rear  of  the  rebel  army.  Privates  Jas. 
Kennedy  and  C.  C.  Eves,  of  company  "  G,"  struck  the 
rebels'  rear  so  closely  as  to  preclude  the  possibility  of 
retreat.  Kennedy,  the  reader  will  remember,  was 
wounded  and  captured  on  the  Boonville  raid  in  the 
spring  of  1862,  he  had  therefore  tasted  the  joys  of 
Southern  prisons,  and  had  no  curiosity  to  satisfy  in  this 
respect.  He  dashed  furiously  foward  along  the  rebel 
lines,  followed  by  Eves,  shouting  in  an  officer  like  tone : 
Foi^m  a  line,  men  /  the  Yankees  a/re  coming  in  the  rear. 
The  rebels  fooled  by  this  trick,  mistook  him  for  a  Con 
federate  officer,  and  he  rode  in  safety  along  the  entire 
column  of  one-third  of  a  mile  in  length,  and  joined  our 
forces  in  safety.  Eves'  mule  fell  with  him  and  he  was 
captured.  Serg't  Clark,  with  the  balance  of  his  com. 
mand,  moved  around  by  the  flank.  They  marched 
sixty  miles  in  seven  hours,  encountering  the  rebels  at 
all  points,  and  loosing  their  train  of  horses  and  negroes, 
and  five  prisoners.  They  reached  Hatch's  column 
while  he  was  crossing  the  Tippah  river. 


54  HISTORY    OF   THE 

As  CoL  Hatch  neared  Birmingham,  April  24th,  he 
sent  Maj.  Coon  off  on  a  reconnoissance  to  our  left  with 
six  companies,  while  he,  with  the  other  four  companies, 
the  prisoners,  thirty-one  in  number,  and  the  captured 
horses,  mules  and  negroes,  moved  on  to  Birmingham. 
Col.  Bartoe  had  been  following  us  for  some  time  with 
Smith's  Partizan  Rangers,  his  own  regiment  and  the 
Second  Alabama  Mounted  Infantry.  Now  that  Hatch 
was  reduced  to  but  four  companies,  and  incumbered 
with  such  a  train  of  plunder,  Bartoe  thought  this  his 
time  to  relieve  him  of  his  train,  if  not  to  capture  the 
guard.  He  therefore  attacked  our  rear  just  as  w^e 
reached  Birmingham  ;  company  "  C  "  were  rear  guard 
at  the  time,  Lieut.  Connor  commanding.  This  gallant 
officer  quickly  dismounted  his  company,  and  forming 
them  across  the  road,  they,  by  the  aid  of  their  revolv 
ing  rifles,  succeeded  in  checking  three  separate  charges 
made  upon  them  by  Smith's  Partizan  Rangers.  The 
enemy  now  attempted  a  flank  movement,  when  compa 
ny  "  C "  fell  back  upon  the  column.  Col.  Hatch 
formed  a  line  with  all  that  he  could  dismount  of  com 
panies  "  A  "  and  "  C."  This  line  numbered  only  sixty - 
five  men  armed  with  Colt's  revolving  rifle,  and  one 
2-pound  cannon,  manned  by  a  corporal  and  five  men  of 
the  Second  Illinois  artillery.  On  one  flank  of  this  bat 
tle  line  he  placed  seven  of  company  "  E  "  mounted,  and 
on  the  other  flank  were  placed  seven  of  company  "  K" 
mounted ;  the  balance  of  these  companies  were  detailed 
to  guard  the  prisoners  and  train.  The  fighting  line 
thus  formed,  as  the  reader  will  see,  numbered  just 
eighty-five.  In  the  centre  of  this  line  Hatch  took  his 
position  mounted.  Bartoe  formed  his  men  and  corning 
upon  our  centre  on  a  charge,  was  handsomly  repulsed ; 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALEY.  55 

rallying  his  men  he  tried  a  flank  movement,  but  Hatch 
checkmated  this  by  falling  back  too  rapidly  to  allow 
the  enemy  to  pass  his  flank,  hence  they  again  tried  his 
centre  but  with  no  better  success  than  before,  when 
they  discontinued  the  attempt.  In  this  engagement, 
as  at  Palo  Alto,  Hatch  kept  his  troops  so  well  covered 
that  he  lost  none.  The  rebel  loss  was  thirty  as  shown 
by  their  own  reports. 

We  now  fell  back  without  farther  fighting  to  La 
Grange.  When  about  fifteen  miles  from  Federal  lines 
we  halted  to  feed ;  while  there  Hatch  sent  his  orderly, 
Chas.  H.  Ellithorps,  of  company  "  L,"  with  an  order  to 
the  picket,  distant  about  one  mile.  On  his  return  he 
was  mortally  wounded  by  a  ball  from  a  squirrel  rifle  in 
the  hands  of  a  guerrilla,  who  stole  up  to  the  roadside 
for  the  purpose  of  committing  the  murder ;  this  was  all 
the  man  Hatch  had  killed  or  wounded  on  the  entire 
trip. 

On  the  23rd,  while  the  column  was  near  Okolona, 
bugler  Amos  Mills,  and  privates  John  Shafer  and 
Geo.  Eidgeway,  of  company  "  A,"  were  detached  from 
the  column  in  search  of  forage,  when  upon  their  return 
they  reached  the  road  where  they  expected  to  find  the 
column,  they  came  upon  the  rear  guard  of  the  enemy's 
forces.  As  they  were  between  the  rear  of  the  main 
rebel  column  and  the  rear  guard,  they  charged  after 
the  guard  who  fled  farther  to  the  rear  at  their  approach. 
In  this  chase  the  boys  captured  one  man,  and  made  two 
more  drop  th.eir  guns,  while  they  drove  six  from  under 
their  hats.  They  now  struck  northward,  first  telling 
their  prisoner  that  they  would  spare  his  life  only  on 
condition  of  his  giving  his  parol  of  honor  that  he 
would  in  no  way  betray  them  while  on  their  way  to 


56  HISTORY    OF   THE 

camp.  He  gave  this  parol  and  therefore  they  took 
him  along  unmolested.  After  riding  about  three 
miles  farther,  they  stopped  at  a  house  and  changed 
their  clothes  for  such  as  the  Confederates  wore.  At 
Pontotoc  they  encountered  seven  rebels ;  they  passed 
themselves  off  to  these  as  Bartoe's  scouts,  their  pris 
oner  faithfully  keeping  his  parol  with  them.  At 
Harrisburg  they  encountered  a  second  squad  of  Con 
federates,  but  passed  them  as  they  had  done  the 
others.  At  Tupelo  they  were  in  sight  of  rebel 
pickets  but  left  them  to  their  right.  When  three 
miles  North  of  Tupelo  they  came  upon  Lieut.  Eains, 
one  of  Forrest's  spies,  whom  they  captured,  and  mak 
ing  him  give  the  same  parol  as  the  other  they  took 
him  with  them.  When  near  Baldwin  they  moved  off 
into  the  brush  and  fed  their  jaded  horses  five  ears  of 
corn  each,  and  rested  a  little  more  than  an  hour  when 
they  resumed  their  march.  They  reached  the  pickets 
of  the  Sixty-Sixth  Illinois,  at  Camp  Davis,  near  Corinth, 
on  the  evening  of  the  second  day  after  they  left  the  col 
umn.  They  had  marched  130  miles  without  food  or  sleep 
and  with  but  five  ears  of  corn  each  for  their  horses.  The 
Colonel  of  the  Sixty-Sixth  Illinois  received  them  with 
kindness,  gave  them  a  good  dinner  and  a  pass  to  Co 
rinth,  where  they  turned  over  their  prisoners,  and  tak 
ing  the  cars  rejoined  the  regiment  at  La  Grange. 

A  new  brigade,  consisting  of  the  Second  Iowa 
Cavalry,  the  Second  Tennessee  Cavalry,  the  Sixth  Iowa 
Mounted  Infantry  and  four  pieces  of  artillery,  was 
now  organized  at  La  Grange.  This'brigade,  Col.  Hatch 
commanding,  left  La  Grange  on  the  29th  of  April,  and 
taking  southward  passed  Chestersville,  where  we  broke 
up  a  conscript  camp.  We  penetrated  the  country  as 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  57 

far  as  Okolona,  when  finding  nothing  to  fightv.we  re 
turned  to  camp  with  300  captured  horses  and  mules, 
twenty -three  prisoners,  and  the  usual  compliment  of 
black  Yankees,  as  the  rebels  call  their  slaves  who  -go 
with  the  Federal  army.  We  marched  200  miles  and 
reached  camp,  May  5th,  having  been  out  seven  days. 

On  the  llth  of  May,  our  brigade,  Col.  Hatch  com 
manding,  was  again  on  the  war  path.  We  went  to  Sena- 
tobia  this  time  to  offer  Chalmers  battle  on  his  own 
ground,  if  perchance  he  would  dance  at  a  loll  of  our 
making  upon  any  terms.  Nothing  of  importance  trans 
pired  until. we  reached  Senatobia,  where  we  struck  the 
Second  Missouri  cavalry ;  while  a  part  of  the  force  en 
gaged  these,  Col.  Coon  with  the  Second  Iowa,  made  a 
rapid  march  to  the  enemy's  rear  for  the  purpose  of  try 
ing  to  get  between  them  and  the  river,  but  they  were 
too  fast  on  a  retreat  to  be  overtaken.  At  Senatobia  we 
captured  a  rebel  mail  and  a  telegraph  operator  with 
dispatches. 

Finding  that  Chalmers  was  rapidly  retreating  south, 
and  in  despair  of  getting  a  fight  out  of  him,  Hatch 
started  back  for  camp.  Now  that  we  were  falling  back, 
Chalmers  became  suddenly  valiant,  and  coming  to  an 
about  face  he  started  after  us,  telling  the  citizens  on  the 
route  that  he  felt  sure  of  his  ability  to  capture  Hatch 
and  his  thieves  as  soon  as  we  should  reach  a  favorable 
place  of  attack,  known  as  Wall  Hill.  So  confident  did 
the  citizens  feel  that  he  would  keep  his  promise  in  this 
respect,  that  they  prepared  a  reception  for  him  when  he 
should  return  on  his  triumphant  march.  Accordingly 
as  we  neared  the  designated  spot  on  the  25th  of  May, 
the  rear  was  suddenly  and  furiously  assaulted.  Company 
"  C,"  who  was  rear  guard,  gallantly  repulsed  the  charge 
8 


58  HISTORY   OF   THE 

without  loss.  It  was  repeated,  however,  with  so  much 
fury,  that  Hatch  found  it  necessary  to  halt  and  form  a 
line,  as  companies  "C"  and  "G"  were  being  over 
whelmed  by  numbers.  Our  artillery  was  advantageously 
planted,  and  the  Sixth  Iowa  detailed  to  support  it. 
Chalmers  was  well  supplied  with  artillery  which  he  also 
threw  into  position  on  a  favorable  locality.  Our  gun 
ners  fired  with  so  much  precision  that  the  rebel  guns 
were  silenced  in  ten  minutes.  No  sooner  did  Chalmers 
see  our  forces  in  a  line  of  battle,  than  he  beat  an  igno- 
minous  retreat,  although  he  greatly  outnumbered  us. 
So  disgusted  were  the  citizens  at  this  failure,  that  the 
ladies  about  Senatobia  presented  Chalmers  with  a 
hooped  skvrt  and  corn-cob  pipe  as  tokens  of  their  regard 
for  him  as  an  officer.  Our  loss  in  this  skirmish  was 
three  wounded  and  six  missing.  We  reached  La 
Grange  on  the  15th  with  sixty  prisoners,  600  horses  and 
mules,  and  400  blacks.  We  were  out  five  days  and 
marched  180  miles. 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  59 


CHAPTER   VIII. 


LA  GRANGE  AND  THE  CAMP  THERE— MIZNER'S  RAID  TO  PANOLA — COMPANY  "  K  *' 
SENT  BACK— TRANSPORTS  FIRED  INTO — PROPERTY  BURNED  IN  RETALIATION — 
SCOUT  TO  JACKSON,  TENNESSEE— BATTLE  THERE — EXPLOITS  OP  COMPANIES  "L'» 
AND  "  M  " — DESPERATION  OF  A  REBEL — LIEUT.  BAND*  WITH  DISPATCH — GRANADA 
TRIP — LARGE  DESTRUCTION  OF  ROLLING  STOCK. 


As  there  was  a  prospect  of  our  spending  the  most  of 
the  hot  season  at  La  Grange,  we  constructed  a  nice 
camp,  building  comfortable  shades  over  all  the  tents  of 
the  men  as  well  as  over  the  stables.  La  Grange  before 
ruined  by  the  devastating  presence  of  armies,  was  one 
of  the  pleasantest  inland  towns  in  Northern  Mississippi. 
It  is  the  county  seat  of  Fayette  county,  beautifully  sit- 
uated  upon  high  ground,  on  the  Memphis  and  Charles 
ton  railroad,  fifty  miles  from  Memphis.  It  is  well  wa 
tered  by  springs,  and  also  by  Wolf  river,  which  flows 
past  but  a  short  distance  south  of  town.  Sanitary 
agents  regarded  it  as  the  most  healthy  camping  ground 
occupied  by  any  part  of  Grant's  army.  With  these 
natural  advantages  in  locality,  added  to  all  that  skill 
could  do  to  render  our  camp  agreeable,  we  here  spent  a 
very  happy  summer. 

On  the  5th  of  June  the  regiment,  Col.  Coon  com 
manding,  was  again  sent  out  with  five  days'  rations. 
They  reached  camp  on  the  10th,  having  been  down  to 
the  left  of  the  railroad,  towards  the  Mississippi  river ; 
nothing  worthy  of  note  occurred  on  this  march.  Col. 


60  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Coon  sustained  no  loss,  but  brought  back  a  few  prison 
ers  and  a  few  negroes,  also  a  small  number  of  captured 
liorses  and  mules. 

The  Sixth  Iowa  infantry  were  now  dismounted  and 
taken  from  our  brigade,  being  sent  by  boat  to  Vicks- 
burg.  We  were  sorry  to  part  with  these  brave  fellows, 
but  the  good  of  the  service  required  the  change,  besides 
the  transfer  gave  their  excellent  Colonel,  John  Corse,  a 
better  chance  to  develop  his  military  genius.  But  the 
history  of  this  brave  leader  of  the  brave  needs  no  com 
ment  from  my  pen. 

On  the  16th  of  June  we  were  again  on  the  wing  with 
six  days'  rations.  Our  force  now  consisted  of  the  First 
and  Second  Brigades  cavalry  division,  Col.  Mizner  com 
manding,  Col.  Coon  as  usual  commanding  the  Second 
Iowa,  We  struck  southeast  to  the  Tallahatchie  river 
at  Wyette  where  we  crossed  by  swimming  the  animals. 
A  raft  was  hastily  constructed  out  of  the  lumber  taken 
from  a  house  near  by,  upon  which  the  cannon  and  wagon 
train  were  conveyed  over.  We  crossed  on  the  18th,  and 
moving  down  the  river  reached  the  rear  of  Panola  about 
10  o'clock,  A.  M.,  on  the  19th.  This  was  Gen.  Chalmers 
Headquarters,  and  as  he  commanded  a  force  equal  in 
numerical  strength  to  ours,  we  reasonably  expected  at 
least  a  show  of  defense,  but  we  were  disappointed  in 
this,  for  he  fled  at  our  approach,  leaving  but  a  picket 
at  Panola,  We  entered  the  town  after  a  brief  shirmish. 
In  the  town  we  found  a  few  tents  and  a  little  ammuni 
tion  which  had  been  abandoned  by  the  enemy.  Com 
pany  "  K,"  Second  Iowa,  Capt.  Chas.  P.  Moore  com 
manding,  were  now  detailed  to  bear  a  dispatch  to  the 
Federal  lines,  The  nearest  point  where  he  could  strike 
these  lines  was  at  Germantown,  eighty  miles  from  Pa- 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  61 

nola,  his  point  of  departure  from  the  column.  The  trip 
was  hazardous,  for  his  course  took  him  within  two  miles 
of  a  rebel  camp  of  eighty-five  men,  while  his  force  num 
bered  but  thirty-five ;  besides  this  he  had,  when  near 
this  rebel  camp,  to  cross  Cold  Water  and  Pidgeon  Roost 
creeks.  These  crossings  were  so  difficult  that  five  reso 
lute  men  could  have  held  either  of  them  against-  his 
entire  force.  When  near  the  rebel  camp,  Corp'l  G.  R. 
Bradley,  commanding  advance  videttes,  came  suddenly 
upon  and  captured  the  rebel  Captain  commanding  the 
Confederate  forces  of  the  vicinity.  With  this  prisoner 
Moore  reached  Germantown  in  safety,  thirty  hours  after 
leaving  Panola.  When  Chalmers  left  his  camp  at  Pa- 
nola,  he  sent  a  small  detachment  to  the  Mississippi  river ; 
these  barbarians  fired  into  a  transport,killing  one  woman 
and  two  children.  By  way  of  retaliation  for  this  out 
rage,  the  Second  Iowa  were  ordered  to  burn  all  the 
property  found  in  the  vicinity  of  the  depredations, 
sparing  nothing  save  the  dwellings  which  sheltered  wo 
men  and  children.  The  country  thus  doomed  was  of 
great  wealth,  and  the  amount  of  property  destroyed  in 
compliance  to  the  order,  immense.  Millions  of  dollars 
worth  of  cotton,  grain  and  meat,  together  with  many 
miles  of  fencing  and  thousands  of  outbuildings,  fell  be 
fore  the  circling  flames.  Rebel  papers  place  the  loss  in 
this  burning  at  $15,000,000.  The  expedition  now  returned 
to  camp,  which  they  reached  on  the  24th  of  June,  bring 
ing  with  them  a  few  prisoners,  and  1,000  head  of  horses 
and  mules,  and  as  many  negroes. 

About  the  1st  of  July,  Gen.  Forrest  moved  his  force 
into  Middle  Tennessee,  taking  up  his  Headquarters  at 
Jackson.  His  men  were  kept  raiding  over  the  country, 
gathering  up  conscripts  and  barbarously  persecuting 


6  2  HISTORY    OF    THE 

every  Union  citizen  who  might  fall  into  their  power. 
On  the  12th  of  July,  Col.  Hatch  took  our  brigade  and 
a  detachment  of  the  Ninth  Illinois  mounted  infantry, 
and  proceeded  to  Jackson  for  the  purpose  of  driving 
Forrest  from  the  place.  Hatch's  force  numbered  1,300 ; 
Forrest's  was  supposed  to  number  2,200.  But  our  boys 
were  better  armed  than  the  Confederates,  and  hence 
feared  not  their  greater  numbers.  In  the  Forkeddeer 
river  bottom,  near  Jackson,  were  no  less  than  nineteen 
bridges  across  which  Hatch  must  go  before  he  could 
reach  the  main  fortifications  held  by  the  rebels.  For 
rest  contested  the  advance  of  the  Union  forces  at  all  of 
these  bridges,  but  the  Third  Michigan  cavalry,  who 
were  in  advance,  pressed  them  steadily  back,  unassist 
ed  until  they  reached  the  last  one,  where  the  resist 
ance  was  so  obstinate  that  the  Ninth  Illinois  infantry 
were  brought  into  action  as  support,  when  the  bridge 
was  soon  carried.  The  Union  forces  now  formed  in 
front  of  the  breastworks  and  quickly  carried  them  by 
assault.  Our  artillery,  Lieut.  Reed,  of  the  Second 
Iowa,  commanding,  got  into  position  so  near  as  to 
command  the  town.  Major  Coon,  commanding  Second 
Iowa,  ordered  company  "M,"  Lieut.  Hamilton,  and 
company  "  L,"  Lieut.  Dunham  commanding,  to  charge 
the  town.  As  these  companies  entered  they  separated, 
Lieut.  Hamilton  taking  one  street  and  Lieut.  Dunham 
another.  The  town  was  completely  full  of  the  enemy, 
and  this  little  charging  force  soon  found  that  theirs  was 
no  easy  task.  The  foe,  who  were  dismounted,  fired 
upon  them  from  coverts  on  every  side,  but  the  chargers 
checked  not,  and  were  soon  rewarded  for  their  intrepid, 
ity  by  seeing  the  foe  fly  panic  stricken  in  every  direc 
tion.  The  horse  rode  by  Lieut.  Humphrey,  of  company 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  63 

"  M,"  becoming  unmanageable,  dashed  with  its  rider 
into  the  midst  of  a  squad  of  over  fifty  rebels.  Serg't 
K.  M.  Wallace  and  private  Samuel  Gibson,  of  company 
"M,"  seeing  their  Lieutenant  thus  in  danger,  spurred  af 
ter  him.  The  Lieutenant7 s  horse  was  killed  and  he 
was  severely  wounded,  but  so  gallantly  was  he  de 
fended  by  the  sabres  of  these  two  men,  that  the  enemy 
were  prevented  from  capturing  him  until  Lieut.  Hamil 
ton  could  come  to  their  aid  with  the  balance  of  the  com 
pany,  when  the  rebels  were  repulsed  with  a  loss  of 
twelve  prisoners.  Serg't  James  Crawford,  of  company 
"  L,r  with  five  men,  charged  down  one  street,  unsupport 
ed  ;  after  capturing  six  prisoners  they  came  upon  a 
company  of  the  enemy's  pickets,  drove  them  off,  taking 
the  post  with  one  vidette. 

A  little  incident  occurred  here  which  deserves  notice 
as  showing  the  desperation  with  which  some  men  will 
fight  rather  than  surrender  to  a  hated  foe.  During 
the  charge  just  recorded,  a  squad  of  company  "L" 
overtook  a  rebel  trooper  and  ordered  him  to  surren 
der  ;  he  refused  with  an  oath ;  one  of  the  boys  fired, 
the  ball  passing  through  the  rebel's  body ;  he  still 
urged  his  steed  onward,  refusing  the  summons  to  sur 
render  ;  two  more  balls  passed  through  him,  but  still  he 
halted  not;  when  one  of  the  boys,  not  relishing  this 
butchery,  dashed  along  side  of  him  and  took  his  horse 
by  the  bridle,  while  another  one  seized  the  bleeding 
wretch  by  the  collar  and  dragged  him  to  the  ground. 
With  a  ghastly,  though  defiant  look,  he  addressed  his 
captors  as  follows :  "You  can  kill  me,  you  can  hold  me, 
but  /  never  will  surrender  to  a  d — d  Yankee"  The 
boys  held  him  for  a  few  moments,  when  he  sank  to  the 
ground  from  loss  of  blood. 


64  HISTOEY    OF    THE 

The  victory  was  soon  complete,  the  enemy  flying  in 
every  direction,  hotly  pursued  by  the  federal  forces.  The 
Federal  loss  in  this  action  was  three  killed  and  eleven 
wounded ;  the  enemy  lost  in  killed,  wounded  and  pris 
oners,  178,  all  left  in  our  hands.  Forrest  said  in  the 
midst  of  this  fight,  that  he  "  never  had  been  whipped, 
and  never  would  be,"  but  he  was  soon  Hatched  at  his 
heart's  content. 

Company  "  K,"  Second  Iowa,  was  left  behind  on 
picket,  at  La  Grange,  when  this  expedition  left.  On 
the  night  of  the  13th,  Lieut.  Bandy  was  ordered  to 
take  fifteen  men  and  bear  a  dispatch  to  Hatch. 
When  they  reached  Bolivar  they  encountered  a  force 
of  guerrillas  in  the  act  of  firing  the  bridge  over  the 
Hatchie  river.  A  wagon  load  of  dry  wood  had  been 
placed  on  the  bridge  and  was  in  a  blaze  when  Bandy 
reached  the  spot.  He  at  once  ordered  the  charge,  and 
the  boys  dashed  forward  scattering  the  guerrillas  in  gay 
style.  The  wood  was  hastily  thrown  from  the  bridge 
and  the  fire  extinguished.  Bandy  then  pushed  on  with 
his  dispatch,  which  he  delivered  in  safety.  The  expe 
dition  reached  La  Grange  July  16th,  bringing  with 
them  100  prisoners,  a  few  horses  and  mules,  and  the 
usual  compliment  of  negroes. 

After  this  we  w^ere  allowed  to  enjoy  our  nice  camp  at 
La  Grange,  interrupted  only  by  short  patrols,  until  Au 
gust  13th,  when  Col;  Coon,  with  six  companies  of  the 
Second  Iowa  and  a  portion  of  the  Third  Michigan  cav 
alry,  started  out  on  another  raid.  Moving  south  they 
reached  the  Tippah  river  just  at  dark  on  the  13th.  The 
heavy  rains  had  greatly  swollen  this  stream  and  render 
ed  the  crossing  very  difficult,  especially  in  the  night. 
On  the  14th  the  command  crossed  the  Tallahatchie  at 


SECOXD    IOWA    CAVALRY.  <>,"> 

Rocky  Ford.     On  the  16th  the}'  crossed  the  Tocuapatfa 
river  by  means   of  a  ferry^.     Company   "  C,"  Second 
Iowa,  were  the  first  forces  across,  and  while  the  balance 
crossed  they  moved  on  to  Water  Valley,  where  they 
canie  upon  a  train  of   six  Confederate  army  wagons, 
fully  equipped  and  in  running  order ;  after  a  short  skir 
mish  all  these  teams  were  captured  with  their  drivers. 
That  night  a  most  terrific  rain  storm  set  in,  accompa 
iiied  by  continual  flashes  of  lightning  which  served  to 
completely  blind  both  man  and  beast.     It  was  so  diffi 
cult  to  keep  the  road  that  horse  and  rider  not  unfre- 
quently  were  precipitated  into  the  ditch  together,  while 
broken  noses,  lost  hats  and  lost  -arms,  was  but  the  order 
of  the  night.      At  midnight  the  column  reached  the 
battlefield  of  Coffeeville,  when  Col.  Coon,  hoping  the 
darkness  would  abate,  halted  the  column  one  hour,  af 
ter  which  they  again  endeavored  to  advance,  but  the 
darkness  was  so  intense  that  a  halt  until  daylight  was 
ordered.     At  sunrise  on  the  morning  of  the  17th  they 
were  again  in  the  saddle,  and  moved  on  to  Coffeeville 
where  they   captured    three    prisoners.     Taking    the 
Granada  road  the  advance  struck  the  pickets  of  the  en 
emy  two  miles  from  Coffeeviller  capturing  one  of  them. 
When  six  miles  out  they  came  in  sight  of  a  locomotive 
which   they  endeavored  to   head  off  without  success. 
When  eight  miles  from  Granada,  six  locomotives  and 
twenty-five  cars  were  captured.     The  main  line  of  the 
enemy  was  soon  encountered  and  pressed  back  until 
near  the  river,  when  they  opened  on  our  forces  with  six 
and  ten  pound  artillery.     Col.   Coon  now  sent  two  12- 
pound  cannon  to  the  front,  soon  after  which  the  rebels 
displayed  the  white  flag,  at  the  same  time  making  good 
their   escape  from   the   surrendered  town,  while    our 
9 


£6  HISTORY    OF    THE 

forces  were  engaged  in  crossing  the  river.  With  Gra 
nada,  sixty  locomotives  and  500  cars  of  all  kinds  were 
captured  and  burned ;  also,  two  depots  and  two  large 
machine  shops,  containing  a  large  amount  of  machinery  ; 
also,  two  large  steam  flouring  mills,  containing  each  not 
less  than  1,000  sacks  of  flour  and  meal;  also  ten  flats 
loaded  with  army  wagons.  The  destruction  was  thor 
ough  and  complete.  The  force  now  returned  to  Holly 
Springs,  which  point  was  reached  on  the  23d  of  August, 
after  an  absence  of  thirteen  days.  100  prisoners,  500 
horses  and  1,000  negroes  were  brought  in  on  this  trip. 
The  command  marched  400  miles  while  out. 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  67 


CHAPTER    IX. 


MEMPHIS — CHURCHES  AND  PRAYER  MEETINGS — BATTLES  OP  COLLIERSVILLE  AND 
COLD  WATER — GEN.  GEORGE  CAPTURED — NARROW  ESCAPE  OF  CAPT.  FOSTER — 
CAMP  AT  COLLIERSVILLE. 


On  the  27th  of  August,  1863,  our  regiment  went  into 
camp  in  Memphis.  While  here  we  had  little  hard  duty 
to  perform.  The  city  afforded  far  greater  temptations 
to  vice  than  any  other  place  in  which  we  had  been 
quartered.  Gambling  hells,  drinking  saloons  and  houses 
of  ill-fame,  were  to  be  met  with  on  every  corner,  and 
were  the  weapons  used  by  Satan  to  rob  the  soldier  of 
his  money  and  drag  his  soul  down  to  the  black  gulf  of 
despair.  For  a  time  it  appeared  as  if  Satan  had  indeed 
been  "  loosed  for  a  season."  But  thank  God,  a  spark 
of  divine  fire  could  be  found  to  burn  even  in  Memphis. 
Preaching  and  Sabbath  Schools  were  constantly  sustained 
in  the  churches,  where  many  soldiers  were  in  regular  at 
tendance,  wMle  the  U.  S.  Christian  Commission  kept  a 
room  open  in  the  Gayoso  Block,  where  the  soldier 
could  pleasantly  while  away  an  hour  reading  or  writing 
to  his  friends.  A  daily  prayer  meeting  was  also  kept 
up  in  this  room  by  the  soldiers  alone,  and  it  speaks  well 
for  the  army  to  state  that  the  averaged  daily  attend 
ance  at  this  meeting  was  greater  than  at  any  daily 
prayer  meeting  in  the  United  States,  the  Fulton  street 
meeting  in  New  York  excepted. 


68  HISTORY    OF   THE 

In  a  military  point  of  view,  our  sphere  of  operations 
while  encamped  at  Memphis,  was  very  limited,  for  Gen. 
Veach,  Post  Commander,  would  not  allow  us  taken  far 
enough  from  the  city  to  get  a  fight  out  of  the  enemy. 
Hatch  did  not  like  this  cooping  up  of  the  Second  Iowa, 
for  it  greatly  weakened  his  brigade  by  preventing  him 
from  using  us  on  raids.  About  the  1st  of  November, 
Gen,  Chalmers  advanced  with  a  heavy  force,  menacing 
the  railroad  between  Memphis  and  Corinth.  We  had 
been  idle  for  two  months,  with  the  exception  of  short 
patrols  about  the  city  or  in  the  surrounding  country,  as 
far  as  Hernando,  and  now  that  the  railroad  was  in  dan 
ger,  Gen,  Veach  permitted  Hatch  to  take  us  to  Colliers- 
ville  to  aid  in  repelling  an  attack  upon  the  garrison 
there.  We  reached  Colliersville  at  12  o'clock,  M.,  on 
the  3d  of  November.  The  rebels,  seven  regiments 
strong,  had  already  driven  in  the  pickets  of  the  little 
garrison  of  less  than  200  of  the  Seventh  Illinois  caval 
ry,  who  alone  held  the  post.  These  boys  were  armed 
with  but  single  shooting  carbines,  a  fact  which  the  citi 
zens  had  not  neglected  to  report  to  Chalmers.  When 
but  two  miles  from  the  place,  Chalmers  met  a  citizen, 
who,  by  virtue  of  his  loudly  professed  loyalty  to  the 
Union  was  permitted  to  pass  our  lines,  who  told  him  the 
exact  strength  of  the  garrison  and  the  kind  of  arms 
they  were  supplied  with.  Confident  of  an  almost  blood 
less  victory  and  a  rich  prize  from  the  good  supply  of 
army  stores  and  horses  known  to  be  in  camp  there,  the 
Confederate  forces  were  formed  for  a  mounted  charge 
on  the  south  of  town,  beyond  rifie  range.  Just  at  this 
time  the  Second  Iowa,  Lieut.-Col.  Hepburn  command 
ing,  came  up  from  the  north  of  town  on  a  gallop.  Quick- 
ly  dismounting  the  eight  rifle  companies,  Hepburn  sent 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  t> 

them  to  the  railroad  across  which  the  enemy  must 
charge,  and  which  afforded  fine  shelter ;  while  compa 
nies  "E"  and  "K"  were  placed  on  the  right,  mounted, 
and  "  M  "  and  "  L  "  on  the  left.  No  sooner  were  these 
preliminary  orders  for  our  formation  executed,  than  the 
enemy  came  down  upon  us  at  full  speed,  their  right 
led  by  Chalmers,  and  their  left  by  Gen.  George,  of  the 
Mississippi  Militia.  The  sight  was  truly  imposing,  for 
their  course  was  across  an  open  field  where  their  entire 
line  was  visible.  They  kept  their  line  remarkably  well 
dressed,  while  the  riflemen  of  the  Second  Iowa  quietly 
awaited  their  approach,  conscious  of  their  ability  to 
check  them  when  they  should  open.  Unfortunately 
they  fired  a  moment  to  soon,  and  few  fell  from  the  balls 
thrown.  Gen.  George,  who  supposed  he  was  charging 
single  shooting  carbines,  now  yelled  to  his  men  to 
"  Come  on,  as  they  have  now  no  loads  in  their  guns, 
they  will  be  ours  before  they  can  reload."  These 
words  were  not  out  of  his  mouth,  however,  ere  a  second 
volley,  more  murderous  than  the  first,  apprised  him  of 
his  error  and  the  nature  of  the  work  he  had  undertaken. 
His  lines  waver,  but  still  follow  their  dauntless  chief 
tain  ;  a  third  volley  whistled  past  him  with  murderous 
effect  upon  his  followers,  who  break  in  confusion ;  two 
more  vollies  are  fired  at  them  as  they  leave  the  field. 
Gen.  George,  however,  refuses  to  stop,  but  comes  mad 
ly  on  regardless  of  the  leaden  hail  around  him.  With 
four  brave  followers  he  reaches  our  lines  and  leaps  over 
the  railroad,  when  his  horse  falls  pierced  by  five  balls. 
Serg't  John  M.  Guild,  of  Co.  "  G,"  seized  George  by  the 
collar  and  ordered  him  to  surrender ;  George  refused, 
saying  that  he  would  not  surrender  to  a  private,  and 
attempted  to  draw  his  sabre.  At  this,  Guild  raised  his 


Vti  HISTORY    OF    THE 

rifle  and  gave  Mm  to  understand  that  if  lie  wouldn't 
surrender  to  him  he  must  fight  him,  when  George  very 
prudently  waived  his  objections  and  handed  over  his 
arms ;  three  others,  one  an  officer,  were  killed  just  as 
they  reached  our  lines,  and  one  other  captured.  The 
prisoners  said  they  should  not  have  attempted  the  cap 
ture  of  the  place  had  they  known  that  it  was  defended 
by  the  Second  Iowa  rifles. 

Simultaneously  with  this  attack  upon  the  centre, 
Capt.  Foster,  commanding  companies  UL"  and  "M" 
upon  the  left,  was  furiously  assaulted  by  greatly  supe 
rior  numbers.  Foster,  in  anticipation  of  this  attack, 
had  dismounted  his  men  and  sent  the  horses  to  the 
rear.  The  boys,  however,  had  no  cover,  whereas  the 
rebels  were  sheltered  by  timber,  and  hence  had  great 
advantage.  The  fighting  here  was  bloody  in  the  ex 
treme.  The  Captain  was  mounted,  and  at  one  time  it 
became  necessary  to  ride  along  his  lines,  which  he  did 
gallantly,  with  a  loss  of  his  horse  killed  under  him, 
pierced  by  two  balls,  three  balls  also  passed  through 
his  own  clothes;  fortunately,  however,  he  was  untouched. 
His  lines  were  forced  slowly  back,  not,  however,  until 
all  their  ammunition  was  exhausted  did  they  call  for 
aid,  when  companies  "  A  "  and  "  H,"  Capt.  Chas.  C. 
Horton,  were  sent  to  their  support  with  their  five 
shooting  rifles.  (Companies  "  L "  and  "  M "  were 
armed  with  single  shooting  carbines.)  The  rebels  were 
now  checked  and  in  a  few  minutes  their  rout  was  com 
plete.  Lieut. -Col.  Hepburn  now  mounted  his  command 
and  gave  chase,  company  "  K,"  Capt.  C.  P.  Moore 
commanding,  taking  the  advance.  The  chase  was  ex 
citing.  It  was  ten  miles  to  Cold  Water,  where  the 
rebels,  being  reinforced,  made  their  first  stan-d.  This 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  71 

entire  distance  was  traversed  by  both  parties  on  the 
gallop.  Lieut.  Jacob  F.  Bandy,  commanded  the  ad 
vance  platoon  of  company  UK."  He  overtook  the  rear 
guard  of  the  enemy  at  the  edge  of  Cold  Water  bottom, 
where  they  had  attempted  to  make  a  stand.  He 
charged  them  with  so  much  dash  that  they  broke  in 
confusion,  leaving  their  Captain  wounded  and  a  prison 
er  in  our  hands.  Our  boys  charged  after  the  retreating 
foe  until  they  came  face  to  face  with  the  mpin  line  of 
battle,  which  the  enemy  had  by  the  aid  of  reinforce 
ments  been  able  to  form  on  the  bank  of  Cold  Water 
creek.  The  skirmish  line  was  on  the  north  side  of  the 
stream,  which  was  the  side  from  which  Bandy  was  ad 
vancing,  while  their  main  line  was  on  the  south  side. 
As  the  creek  was  very  difficult  to  cross,  this  gave  the 
enemy  great  advantage.  As  it  was  now  after  dark, 
Bandy  with  his  platoon  of  sixteen  men  ran  up  to  within 
ten  or  fifteen  steps  of  the  rebel  line  before  he  discovered 
them.  He  was  not  long  left  in  ignorance  as  to  their 
position,  however,  for  no  sooner  had  he  attained  this 
distance,  than  he  was  received  by  a  volley  from  the  en 
tire  line  of  several  thousand ;  but  fortunately  their  aim 
was  too  high  and  no  one  was  hurt,  while  the  light  made 
by  the  flash  of  the  guns,  revealed  the  situation  and 
force  of  the  enemy.  Although  Bandy  had  but  sixteen 
men,  while  the  enemy  were  numbered  by  thousands,  he 
did  not  give  back,  but  springing  from  the  horses,  the 
boys  took  shelter  behind  trees,  logs  and  stumps,  and 
awaiting  the  fire  of  the  enemy's  guns  to  give  them 
light,  they  used  their  carbines  to  a  good  purpose,  while 
the  main  force  was  formed  and  sent  up  to  their  support. 
For  an  hour  the  fighting  was  sharp,  each  side  firing  at 
the  blaze  of  the  others  guns,  when  finding  that  nothing 


72  HLSTOKY    OF    THE 

could  be  gained  by  continuing  the  contest,  Hepburn 
ordered  the  forces  to  be  withdrawn.  Capt.  Chas.  C. 
Horton  was  wounded  in  this  action.  The  forces  fell 
back  to  the  first  plantation  and  camped  for  the  night. 
The  next  morning  Hatch  came  up  with  the  balance  of 
the  brigade,  and  the  pursuit  was  continued  until  the  en 
emy  reached  the  south  side  of  the  Tallahatchie,  after 
which  the  brigade  returned  by  way  of  La  Grange,  where 
they  rernBpd  for  several  days.  The  Federal  loss  in 
this  campaign  was  five  killed,  twelve  wounded  and 
twenty  missing.  The  enemy  left  forty-one  dead  on  the 
field,  and  we  captured  fifty  prisoners ;  their  wounded 
could  not  fall  short  of  200.  Among  the  prisoners  were 
eight  commissioned  officers,  including  one  Brigadier 
General.  We  found  our  camp  equipage  at  Colliers- 
ville,  which  place  we  reached  on  the  14th  of  November, 
1863. 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  73 


CHAPTER   X. 

GEN.  S.  D.  LEE  AT  OXFORD— HATCH'S  MOVEMENT  INTO  TENNESSEE — FORAGING — 
COL.  MOSEBY  —  SKIRMISH  AT  SAULSBURY — BATTLE  OF  Moscow — COL.  HATCH 
WOUNDED — FORREST  IN  TENNESSEE — TUTTLE  RAID. 

The  Confederate  forces  had  been  foiled  twice  in  their 
attempts  to  gain  a  footing  on  the  Memphis  and  Charles 
ton  railroad,  and  feeling  much  chagrined  at  their  fail, 
ure,  they  determined  upon  a  more  powerful  and  more 
successful  attempt.  For  this  purpose,  they  massed  a 
large  force  of  veteran  troops  at  Oxford,  Mississippi, 
under  the  command  of  Brig.-Gen.  S.  D.  Lee,  who  en 
joyed  an  enviable  reputation  in  the  South  as  a  gallant 
and  skillful  cavalry  officer.  For  several  days  Colonel 
Hatch  waited  impatiently  for  an  attack  from  this  new 
champion,  but  Lee  appeared  very  loth  to  risk  a  battle  ; 
Hatch,  therefore,  determined  to,  if  possible,  hasten  the 
desired  collision.  For  this  purpose  he  ordered  nearly 
all  the  cavalry  stationed  along  the  railroad,  to  prepare 
for  a  ten  days7  inarch ;  accordingly  on  the  morning  of 
November  26th,  our  brigade,  consisting;  of  the  Second 

o         /  o 

Iowa  and  Sixth  and  Mnth  Illinois  cavalry,  with  eight 
pieces  of  artillery,  Col.  Hatch  commanding,  moved  out, 
taking  a  northeast  course ;  this  took  us  into  the  rich 
fertile  region  of  West  Tennessee.  Two  days'  march 
found  us  in  the  vicinity  of  Covington,  where  we  added 
greatly  to  our  stock  of  good  horses,  and  fared  sumptu 
ously  upon  the  chickens,  turkeys,  fresh  pork,  sweet 
10 


74  HISTORY    OF    THE 

potatoes,  dried  fruits,  jellies,  preserves,  sweetcakes,  mo 
lasses  and  honey,  in  y/liich  the  storehouses  of  the 
wealthy  planters  of  the  vicinity  abounded,  and  which 
the  boys  confiscated  in  quantities  sufficient  to  appease 
the  appetites  of  the  most  gluttonous.  The  looks  and 
feelings  of  fair  belles  and  worthy  dames  as  they  saw 
their  eatables,  preserved  with  so  much  care  for  the  re 
ception  dinners  for  their  own  sons  and  lovers  when 
they  should  return  from  the  wars,  thus  vanish  before  the 
touch  of  the  hated  Yankee  thieves,  as  they  called  us,  can 
be  better  imagined  than  described.  He  who  has  never 
seen  an  army  foraging  upon  a  well  supplied  enemy's 
country,  can  form  but  a  faint  conception  of  the  destruc 
tion  which  attends  it.  Every  trooper  is  his  own  com 
missary,  and  takes  if  he  can  find  it,  as  much  as  he 
pleases  of  such  as  he  likes.  Hence,  but  the  best  of  any 
article  is  eaten,  while  all  will  be  destroyed  by  culling. 
A  hog  will  be  slaughtered  for  the  hams,  or  a  stand  of 
bees  destroyed  for  but  a  few  pounds  of  honey  ;  hence, 
although  much  is  eaten,  far  more  is  wasted. 

On  the  30th  of  November,  eleven  companies  of  the 
Second  Iowa,  Capt.  Graves  commanding,  camped  for 
the  night  on  the  plantation  of  one  Col.  Moseby.  The 
Colonel  had  just  completed  the  butchery  of  twenty-four 
fine  fat  hogs.  As  the  column  came  up,  Moseby — for  he 
w^as  not  at  this  time  a  soldier — came  out,  and  with  a 
view  of  saving  his  property  through  the  intercession  of 
the  commanding  officer,  he  received  the  Captain  com 
manding  and  the  officers  of  his  staff  after  the  most  im 
proved  pattern  of  Southern  chivalry.  Champagne, 
wines,  brandy  and  oysters  crowded  the  table  to  which 
they  were  invited.  The  Colonel  now  asked  his  guests 
to  look  at  his  fine  supply  of  pork,  with  a  view  of  asking 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  fc   75 


for  a  guard  for  the  same.  Imagine  his  surprise  upon 
reaching  the  smokehouse,  to  find  that  he  had  not  meat 
enough  left  for  a  breakfast  for  his  guests.  The  boys 
Jiad  carried  every  hog  to  their  company  grounds,  where 
they  were  busy  cooking  the  best  of  each  upon  fires 
made  from  the  Colonel's  fence  rails.  'Tis  but  just  to 
add  that  the  boys,  most  of  them,  thought  they  were 
feasting  off  of  the  supplies  of  Col.  Moseby,  the  guerrilla 
chief  of  Potomac  notoriety,  or  they  would  perhaps  have 
been  a  little  easier  with  him. 

While  thus  engaged,  Gen.  Lee  thinking  this  his  time, 
made  an  advance  in  force,  and  the  1st  of  December  saw 
us  rapidly  moving  towards  Pocahontas,  Tennessee, 
some  twenty  miles  west  of  Corinth,  where  it  was  sup 
posed  Lee  would  strike.  We  reached  Middletown, 
eight  miles  east  of  Pocahontas,  at  dark  on  the  2d.  Soon 
the  evening  train  for  Memphis  returned  with  the  intel 
ligence  that  the  rebels  had  struck  the  road  at  Sauls- 
bury,  where  they  narrowly  escaped  capture.  A  little 
past  midnight  we  were  moving  towards  the  point  now 
held  by  Lee.  We  reached  the  rebel  pickets  two  hours 
before  day,  about  five  miles  east  of  Saulsbury.  The 
rebels  contested  every  foot  of  the  ground,  but  fell 
slowly,  though  stubbornly,  back  before  the  rifles  of  the 
Second  Iowa,  until  they  were  near  Saulsbury,  where 
Lee  showed  a  strong  line  of  battle  of  some  two  miles 

o 

in  length.  His  position  was  selected  in  the  edge  of  a 
large  open  field.  Hatch,  who  had  not  more  than  one- 
fourth  as  many  men  as  Lee  showed,  formed  his  forces 
on  the  other  side  of  the  field,  so  as  to  make  the  greatest 
possible  display  of  numbers,  at  the  same  time,  continu 
ally  pushing  the  enemy's  flanks,  while  he  engaged  his 
centre  with  artillery.  Thus  arranged,  Hatch  waited  the 


76      <  HISTOKY    OF    THE 

arrival  of  Gen.  Tuttle,  who  was  coming  up  with  in 
fantry  support.  For  two  hours  the  two  lines  thus  con 
fronted  each  other,  waiting  but  for  the  will  of  their 
leaders  to  rush  to  the  deadly  conflict.  Just  before  Gen. 
Tuttle  arrived,  however,  Lee  ordered  a  retreat.  While 
pursuing  the  rebels  before  daylight,  the  two  lines  often 
came  within  speaking  distance  of  each  other.  At  such 
times  the  boys,  on  each  side,  were  free  with  their  jests 
and  taunts  to  each  other.  At  one  time,  when  the  rebels 
were  retreating  rather  lively,  one  of  our  boys  thus  ad 
dressed  the  Captain  of  the  rear  guard :  "Hallo,  Cap.; 
your  men  ain't  worth  a  d — m  to  fight ;  we  are  clear 
give  out  running  after  them ;  do  try  and  get  them  to 
stand  until  we  give  them  a  round."  The  Captain 
pushed  on,  however,  heedless  of  the  taunts  of  his  pur 
suers.  Our  loss  in  this  skirmish  was  one  wounded ; 
they  left  two  dead  behind  them. 

Lee  now  moved  south  and  west,  while  Hatch  moved 
down  the  railroad  to  La  Grange.  On  the  4th,  Lee 
made  a  feint  upon  La  Grange,  while  with  the  principal 
column,  5,000  strong,  he  moved  by  a  rapid  march  upon 
Moscow,  which  place  was  garrisoned  by  one  regiment 
of  colored  troops,  the  Second  West  Tennessee  A.  D., 
Col.  Frank  Kendrick,  formerly  a  Major  in  the  Second 
Iowa  cavalry,  commanding.  Hatch  was  not  to  be 
fooled  by  such  feints,  and  rightly  divining  the  real 
point  of  attack,  he  rushed  his  brigade  down  the  railroad 
to  Moscow,  with  all  possible  speed.  The  Sixth  Illinois 
cavalry  were  some  distance  in  the  advance,  and  as  they 
rushed  across  the  bridge  over  Wolf  river,  they  were 
ambushed  by  a  superior  force,  and  sustained  a  heavy- 
loss  in  horses  and  men,  before  succor  reached  them. 
The  enemy  followed  up  the  advantage  thus  gained,  by 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALKY.  77 

a  desperate  attempt  to  gain  possession  of  the  bridge, 
which  done,  the  day  would  be,  they  thought,  easily 
won,  for  Lee  had  5,000  good  men,  whereas  Hatch  had 
not  over  1,300,  aided  by  perhaps  500  colored  troops. 
Hatch  now  arrived  at  the  bridge,  and  throwing  his  en- 

o     i  O 

tire  force  into  the  conflict,  succeeded  in  driving  back 
the  foe.  The  fighting  was  desperate,  and  the  roar  of 
the  cannon  and  small  arms,  deafening.  In  the  midst  of 
this  struggle,  Col.  Hatch  was  shot  through  the  right 
lung,  a  very  dangerous  wound.  So  engrossed  in  the 
battle  was  he,  that  he  refused  to  give  up  the  command 
or  leave  the  field,  though  the  ball  had  passed  entirely 
through  his  body.  Ordering  an  ambulance  to  the  spot, 
he  was  placed  therein  and  driven  from  point  to  point 
on  the  field,  while  he  directed  the  movements  of  the 
men.  In  this  way  he  fought  and  won  the  battle,  driv 
ing  Lee  from  the  field.  Hatch's  loss  was  eleven  killed, 
thirty  wounded  and  forty  missing.  Lee  left  sixty  of 
his  dead  on  the  field,  in  our  hands.  We  were  out  on 
this  trip  ten  days,  and  marched  180  miles.  After  the 
battle  the  regiment  returned  to  camp  at  Colliersville. 
During  the  skirmish  at  Saulsbury,  Gen.  Forrest 
crossed  the  railroad  and  went  North  with  3,000  men. 
The  object  of  this  was  to  obtain  possession  of  a  large 
force  of  conscripts  his  agents  had  collected  in  Middle 
Tennessee,  and  take  them  through  our  lines  to  Lee's 

I  O 

headquarters  at  Oxford.  To  checkmate  this  move,  the 
cavalry  along  the  railroad  between  Memphis  and 
Corinth,  were  ordered  out  on  the  22d  of  December,  with 
ten  days'  rations ;  Gen.  Grierson  commanding  cavalry 
division,  Maj.  D.  E.  Coon  commanding  Hatch's  brigade, 
while  Capt.  Graves  commanded  the  Second  Iowa.  The 
infantry  were  also  ordered  out,  Gen.  Tuttle  being  in 


78  HISTORY    OF   THE 

command  of  all.  Forrest's  force  amounted  to  3,000 
regular  soldiers,  with  8,000  conscripts,  5,000  of  whom 
were  armed,  the  balance  were  under  guard.  Tuttle's 
command  consisted  of  at  least  20,000  veteran  troops, 
well  supplied  with  artillery.  Yet  strange  to  tell,  we 
were  kept  huddled  together  under  the  guns  of  the  fort 
at  Grand  Junction,  while  the  Seventh  Illinois  cavalry 
were  overpowered  and  badly  cut  up  near  Bolivar,  and 
while  Forrest  leisurely  moved  to  Lafayette,  where  he 
overpowered  the  light  picket  left  there  and  crossed  the 
railroad  in  safety  with  all  his  plunder.  Twenty-four 
hours  after  Forrest  got  safely  through  our  lines,  the 
cavalry  were  started  in  pursuit.  Maj.  Coon,  with  our 
brigade,  followed  rapidly,  and  after  twenty-four  hours' 
chase,  he  was  in  a  fair  way  to  catch  the  fugitives,  when 
he  received  positive  orders  to  countermarch,  which  we 
did,  reaching  camp  December  31st,  very  much  disgusted 
with  army  life.  All  expressed  a  strong  hope  that  we 
might  have  no  more  raiding  to  do  until  our  old  leader, 
Ed.  Hatch,  should  be  again  able  to  command  us.  While 
we  were  out  on  this  trip,  our  camp  at  Colliersville  was 
left  in  charge  of  Capt.  Foster,  of  company  "  M."  After 
crossing  the  railroad  at  Lafayette,  Forrest  sent  a  force 
of  500  men  to  burn  our  camp.  Capt.  Foster,  assisted 
by  Lieut.  Watson,  of  company  "  I,"  and  eighty  "  camp 
guards,"  met  this  force  near  Lafayette,  and  so  bravely 
did  this  little  force  oppose  the  advance  of  the  enemy, 
that  they  were  an  entire  half  day  driving  Foster  five 
miles,  when  darkness  came  to  his  relief  and  the  camp 
was  saved.  Thus,  Foster,  with  a  few  home  guards,  did 
more  than  the  rest  of  the  army. 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALKY. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

CAMP  AT  COLLIERSTILLK— COLD  WEATHER— MOTE  TO  MEMPHIS — SOOY  SMITH  RAID 
— OKOLONO  AND  SURROUNDINGS — CAPTURE  OP  Cox  AND  OTHERS — BURNING  OP 
PRAIRIE  STATION — CHARGE  OP  C APT.  GRAVE  AND  LIEUT.  BANDY — WEST  POINT 
CAPTURED — BATTLE  OF  FEBRUARY  21  ST — CRITICAL  POSITION  OP  SECOND  IOWA — 
BAD  MANAGEMENT — BATTLE  OF  FEBRUARY  22o — Loss  OP  CANNON — STAMPEDE — 
GRIERSON  ASSUMES  COMMAND — SCARE  OF  MCCRELLIS'  BRIGADE — REGIMENT  RE-EN. 
LIgTS — ELECTION  OP  OFFICERS. 

Our  camp  at  Colliersville  was  well  fixed  for  winter, 
each  tent  being  nicely  boarded  up,  with  a  cozy  fire 
place  attached,  and  as  the  "New  Year's  eve,"  which 
bade  farewell  to  1863,  and  the  "New  Year's  day,'7 
which  introduced  1864,  were  both  remarkable  for  their 
severity,  the  reader  will  readily  believe  that  we  enjoyed 
these  cozy  "  Katives,"  as  only  the  war-hardened  soldier, 
accustomed  to  all  the  hardships  and  suffering  of  an  active 
winter  campaign,  can.  "  Blessings  brighten,"  we  are  told, 
"  as  they  take  their  flight."  Who  is  better  fitted  to 
appreciate  a  good  fire,  than  he  who  has  stood  as  picket 
during  the  long  watches  of  a  cold  stormy  night,  upon 
some  exposed  dreary  peak,  or  who  will  more  prize  a 
snug  warm  bed,  than  he  who  is  accustomed  to  spend 
wintry  nights  with  but  the  soldier's  blanket  to  shield 
him  from  the  piercing  air  above,  or  the  ice  covered 
earth  beneath  him.  We  reasonably  hoped  now  that 
our  fall  campaign  was  ended,  that  during  the  rigor  of 
winter  we  should  be  allowed  to  enjoy  our  comfortable 
quarters  at  Colliersville.  In  this?  however,  we  were 


80  HISTORY    OF    THE 

sadly  disappointed,  for  on  the  2d  of  January,  1864, 
orders  to  break  camp  came.  The  day  was  severely 
cold,  and  Avith  many  misgivings  we  obeyed  the  order 
to  pull  down  our  tents,  and  again  nerved  ourselves  to 
face  the  wintry  storm,  unprotected  by  even  the  canvass 
house  of  the  soldier.  We  moved  to  Germantown, 
where  we  bivouacked  for  the  night  on  beds  of  snow  and 
ice. 

We  reached  Memphis  on  the  4th,  and  pitching  our 
tents  on  the  frozen  ground,  without  fires,  we  wrapped 
ourselves  in  our  blankets,  and  shivering  with  cold,  we 
existed,  not  lived,  while  the  night  "  dragged  her  lazy 
length  along."  As  material  for  building  winter  quar 
ters  was  very  hard  to  obtain  about  Memphis,  it  was  a 
week,  and  a  bitter  cold  week  at  that,  before  our  new 
quarters  presented  anything  like  an  inviting  appear 
ance  to  the  cold  and  weary  soldier. 

We  remained  in  camp  at  Memphis  until  the  5th  of 
February,  when  we  moved  to  Germantown,  to  join  a 
large  raiding  force  of  cavalry  about  to  start  from  that 
point,  under  command  of  Gen.  W.  S.  Smith  and  Gen. 
B.  H.  Grierson.  While  at  Memphis  the  regiment  re 
ceived  a  large  lot  of  recruits,  so  that  we  now  moved  out 
with  greater  numerical  strength  than  we  had  had  since 
the  fall  of  1862. 

The  finest  cavalry  force  which  had  ever  operated  in 
this  department,  was  now  massed  in  the  vicinity  of 
Germantown,  and  placed  under  the  control  of  General 
Smith.  The  force  was  divided  into  three  brigades : 
The  first  brigade,  Col.  Waring  commanding,  consisted 
of  the  Second  Illinois,  Second  New  Jersey,  Fourth 
Missouri,  Seventh  Indiana  and  Nineteenth  Pennsylva 
nia  cavalry.  The  second  brigade,  Lieut.-Col.  W.  P. 


SECOND  .  IOWA    CAVALKY.  81 

Hepburn  commanding,  consisted  of  the  Second  Iowa, 
and  Sixth,  Seventh  and  Ninth  Illinois  cavalry.  The 
third  brigade,  Col.  McCrellis  commanding,  consisted  of 
the  Second,  Third  and  Fourth  Tennessee,  Third  Illinois^ 
Fifth  Kentucky,  Seventy -Second  Indiana  and  Fourth 
Regular  cavalry.  The  entire  force  numbered  nearly 
9,000  well  armed  and  well  mounted  men. 

Brig.-Gen.  B.  H.  Grierson,  who  was,  without  doubt, 
the  most  capable  officer  who  accompanied  the  expedi 
tion,  was  given  no  regular  command,  but  to  use  his  own 
expression,  "  was  taken  along  as  a  sort  of  supernumera 
ry."  Added  to  this  force  were  fourteen  pieces  of  light 
artillery. 

We  moved  out  before  daylight  on  the  llth  of  Feb 
ruary,  going  south  by  very  slow  marches.  The  object 
of  the  expedition  was  to  join  Gen.  Sherman  at  Merid 
ian,  Mississippi,  and  thus  furnish  the  cavalry  for  a  large 
expedition  under  him,  moving  into  the  interior  from 
Vicksburg.  The  command  moved  in  three  columns 
until  the  Tallahatchie  river  was  reached  at  New  Albany. 
We  crossed  the  river  there  on  the  14th,  and  thereafter 
the  command  moved  in  one  column.  On  the  18th  we 
reached  Okolona,  little  of  interest  having  transpired 
thus  far.  We  were  now  on  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
prairies  in  the  United  States,  and  which  may  properly 
be  termed  the  bread  basket  of  the  Confederacy.  Millions 
of  bushels  of  corn,  thousands  of  bales  of  cotton,  and 
the  well  filled  smoke  houses  on  every  plantation,  told 
of  the  countless  wealth  of  this  section  of  the  country. 
Living  some  two  miles  from  Okolona,  was  a  wealthy 
rebel  by  the  name  of  Cox.  On  one  of  our  former  raids, 
a  negro,  the  property  of  this  planter,  had,  impelled  by 
his  love  of  freedom,  left  wife  and  children,  to  try  his 
11 


82  IIISTOEY    OF   THE 

fortunes  with  the  Yankee  army.  Now  that  he  was 
within  two  miles  of  his  family 7  (he  was  a  servant  of  an 
officer  in  our  brigade,)  he  resolved  to  see  them  at  the 
risk  of  his  life.  For  this  purpose  he  stole,  under  cover 
of  darkness,  to  his  "  old  cabin  home.'7  While  there,  his 
wife  told  him  that  her  master  had,  for  a  week  past, 
kept  his  horses  and  mules  hid  out,  for  fear  of  a  visit 
from  u  the  Yankees  ;"  but  that  on  that  day,  upon  learn 
ing  that  we  had  taken  another  direction,  he  had  caused 
them  to  be  brought  back  again ;.  that  they  were  then 
in  the  barn,  while  the  "white  folks'  house,"  that  night, 
sheltered  a  rebel  Captain  and  three  privates,  including 
her  master.  Before  day  Sambo  returned  to  our  camp 
with  the  above  information.  Upon  this,  Capt.  Moore 
was  ordered  to  take  companies  "K"and  "L,"  of  the 
Second  Iowa,  and  pay  his  compliments  to  said  Cox  ic 
a  morning  call  We  reached  the  place,  guided  by  this 
negro,  just  at  daylight  on  the  morning  of  the  19th, 
We  entered  the  yard  upon  the  gallop,  and  surrounded 
the  house  so  quickly  that  its  rebel  inmates  could  no1 
escape,  hence  they  were  all  captured.  We  also  took 
from  this  plantation  a  large  stock  of  horses  and  mules, 
with  negroes  enough  to  aid  in  leading  them.  This 
done  we  struck  out  for  the  column,  which  we  overtook 
at  Aberdeen.  This  was  the  first  Yankee  force  ever  in 
this  town,  and  hence  the  source  of  great  terror  and  cu 
riosity  to  the  citizens.  Twenty  or  thirty  prisoners 
were  surprised  and  captured  there.  We  now  moved 
towards  West  Point.  As  we  crossed  the  prairies,  along 
our  line  of  march,  thousands  of  negroes,  each  leading  a 
file  of  horses  and  mules,  joined  the  column.  On  the 
morning  of  the  20th  we  reached  Prairie  Station,  where 
we  burned  a  long  train  of  cars,  together  with  a  large 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  83 

amount  of  Confederate  corn ;  pursuing  our  course  to 
West  Point,  we  soon  encountered  the  enemy's  pickets. 
The  rebels  fell  slowly  back  until  noon,  when  Lieut. 
Bandy,  commanding  advance  platoon,  struck  the  centre 
of  a  rebel  column,  moving  down  a  lane  at  right  angles 
to  our  line  of  march.  Lieut.  Bandy  was  an  officer  of 
acknowledged  dash  and  ability,  and  although  he  now 
had  but  sixteen  men  with  him,  he  charged  into  the  lane 
so  furiously  as  to  break  the  enemy's  column.  He  pur 
sued  the  advance  portion  rapidly  down  the  lane,  while 
the  portion  cut  oil',  consisting  of  about  200  men,  moved 
back  and  thence  through  a  field,  off  upon  the  left,  to 
rejoin  their  comrades.  At  this  juncture  of  affairs,  Capt. 
Graves,  commanding  sabre  battallion,  reached  this 
lane.  Seeing  this  force  cut  off  by  Bandy,  crossing  the 
prairie  in  our  front,  Graves  at  once  ordered  the  charge 
with  drawn  sabres.  The  scene  presented  the  finest 
chance  for  a  successful  sabre  charge  that  I  ever  saw. 
The  rebels,  who  were  exerting  every  energy  to  escape, 
were  hemmed  in  by  a  slough,  which  could  be  crossed 
but  by  file.  The  men  seeing  a  chance  to  capture  a  force 
equal  in  numbers  to  their  own,  with  very  little  danger 
to  themselves,  eagerly  obeyed  the  order  to  charge,  and 
at  the  word  every  horse  sprang  forward  goaded  by  the 
spur  of  the  anxious  rider.  Scarcely,  however,  had  our 
steeds  taken  the  first  leap,  when,  much  to  our  disap 
pointment,  "  recall "  sounded,  and  the  "halt"  was  or 
dered.  Deep  were  the  curses  of  the  mortified  troopers 
thus  robbed  of  their  game.  The  cause  of  Maj.  Coon's 
ordering  the  "  recall "  sounded,  was  a  want  of  support, 
for  the  balance  of  the  brigade,  it  appears,  had  not  kept 
up  with  the  Second  Iowa,  which  had  the  advance.  But 
where  is  Lieut.  Bandy  whom  we  left  pursuing  the  rebel 


84  HISTORY    OF    THE 

column  down  the  lane  ?  As  remarked  above,  he  had 
but  sixteen  men  with  him,  but  with  this  little  band  he 
forced  the  enemy  through  the  lane  for  nearly  a  mile, 
into  the  woods  beyond,  where  they  formed  a  line,  and 
he  could,  of  course,  drive  them  no  farther,  hence  he  re 
turned  to  the  column  not  a  little  angry  with  the  officers 
above  him  for  their  failure  to  support  him,  avering 
that  if  a  few  hundred  men  had  been  sent  to  his  support 
at  the  proper  time,  he  could  have  easily  captured  a 
brigade  of  the  enemy.  But  this  few  hundred  could  not 
be  had,  because  the  brigade  was  too  far  in  the  rear. 
Thus  was  lost,  by  default,  the  most  golden  opportunity 
of  the  trip.  But  we  soon  learned  better  than  to  look 
for  success  under  our  present  leaders.  Regimental  and 
company  commanders  can  do  little  but  sacrifice  men, 
unless  brigade  and  division  commanders  act  their  part 
properly.  The  enemy  now  appeared  in  force,  and 
stubbornly  resisted  our  advance  at  every  favorable 
point.  They  were  steadily  driven  back,  however,  by 
the  dismounted  riflemen  of  the  Second  Iowa,  and  before 
the  close  of  the  day,  West  Point,  with  all  her  stores  of 
corn  and  a  large  depot,  was  in  our  hands.  Lieut.  Dwire 
of  company  "  F,"  a  gallant  and  deserving  officer,  was 
killed  in  the  fight  for  the  occupancy  of  this  place.  Sev 
eral  enlisted  men  were  severely  wounded. 

The  next  day,  February  21st,  was  the  Sabbath.  The 
sun  arose  to  a  cloudless  sky,  shining  forth  'mid  all  the 
beauty  and  grandeur  of  a  lovely  Southern  spring  day. 
The  birds  sang  sweetly  their  morning  lay  from  the  bud 
ding  trees,  and  all  nature  seemed  to  praise  the  God  of 
its  being.  The  small-pox  had  made  its  appearance 
among  us,  and  several  of  our  comrades  were  compelled 
to  leave  their  place  in  ranks  for  the  ambulance  train. 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  85 

Gen.  Sherman,  with  whom  we  were  to  co-operate,  had 
already  commenced  his  retrograde  movement,  having 
waited  at  Meridian,  with  no  word  from  us,  until  he  had 
despaired  of  seeing  us.  Hence,  our  expedition  had  al 
ready  failed  of  its  object ;  failed  because  our  leaders 
were  too  slow,  therefore,  we  had  but  to  return  to  Mem 
phis  with  our  plunder,  which  now  amounted  to  3,000 
horses  and  mules,  1,500  negroes  and  about  200  prisoners. 
We  soon  found  that  we  were  destined  to  have  our  hands 
full  to  even  return  to  camp. 

Gen.  Smith  ordered  the  retreat  early  in  the  morning 
of  the  21st.  First  directing  Maj.  Coon  to  take  the 
Second  Iowa  and  a  battalion  of  the  Sixth  Illinois,  and 
attack  the  enemy  and  press  him  back  towards  the 
Sookataunchie  river,  thus  giving  the  train  time  to  get 
under  way  in  safety.  In  obedience  to  these  orders, 
Maj.  Coon  moved  out  a  little  after  sunrise.  We  soon 
struck  the  pickets  of  the  enemy,  and  for  two  hours 
pressed  them  back  in  a  sharp  skirmish,  when  Major 
Coon  received  orders  to  fall  back  and  rejoin  the  main 
column,  which  was  then  fast  retreating  towards  Okolona. 
The  rebels,  under  Maj. -Gen.  Forrest,  followed  closely 
and  kept  up  a  brisk  skirmish  with  the  rear  guard.  We 
fell  back  with  little  difficulty  until  the  column  was  over 
taken.  But  now  Forrest  massed  heavily  upon  the  cen 
tre,  while  he  sent  large  mounted  forces  upon  either 
flank.  This  necessitated  either  a  standing  fight  on  our 
part,  or  to  retreat  so  rapidly  as  to  keep  ahead  of  For 
rest's  flanking  parties.  Maj.  Coon  believed  the  former 
the  better  policy,  and  hence  requested  from  Lieut.-Col. 
Hepburn,  commanding  brigade,  the  authority  thus  to 
do.  This  request  was,  however,  refused,  and  the  re 
treat  accordingly  continued.  Capt.  Graves  held  the 


86  HISTORY    OF    THE 

rear  with  the  third  battallion.  The  fighting  in  the  rear 
became  desperate,  the  rebels  repeatedly  charging  both 
rear  and  flanks.  Capt.  Graves  and  his  men  fought 
with  great  gallantry  and  with  great  loss,  since  the  en 
emy  vastly  outnumbered  them.  Maj.  Coon  dismounted 
the  other  two  battalions,  armed  with  Colt's  revolving 
rifle,  commanded  by  Captains  Queal  and  Horton. 
From  long  experience,  the  sabre  battalion  had  learned 
to  repose  implicit  confidence  in  the  support  of  these 
riflemen,  hence  as  they  saw  them  drop  behind  the  trees 
in  a  line,  a  few  rods  to  their  rear,  they  raised  a  shout 
of  exultation,  and  nerved  themselves  to  so  hold  the 
rebels  in  check  by  falling  slowly  back,  as  to  give  this 
newly  formed  line  a  chance  ;  but  alas  for  human  hopes, 
just  before  the  sabremen  reached  this  line,  it  was  ordered 
to  retire,  an  order  which  these  brave  fellows,  who  saw 
their  comrades,  by  whose  sides  they  had  so  often 
fought,  being  thus  butchered  for  lack  of  the  aid  they 
could,  if  but  allowed,  render  them,  obeyed  with  great 
reluctance.  Maj.  Coon  now  called  an  orderly  and  sent 
him  to  Lieut. -Col.  Hepburn  with  these  instructions: 
"  Tell  Col.  Hepburn  that  I  must  either  be  supported 
and  allowed  to  fight,  or  the  column  must  get  out  of  my 
way  and  let  me  run,  for  I  cannot  fall  back  at  this  pace 
any  longer."  AS  this  appeal  brought  no  relief,  Coon 
sent  his  Adjutant,  Lieut.  Theodore  Sydenham,  to  Gen. 
Smith  to  implore  him  to  do  something  to  stay  the 
butchery  going  on  in  the  rear ;  at  the  same  time,  assur 
ing  him  that  one  brigade  could  whip  the  enemy,  if  but 
allowed  to  fight.  Smith's  only  reply  was :  "  Mount 
the  rifles  and  close  up."  But,  said  the  Adjutant,  we 
can't  do  this  without  losing  half  of  the  regiment. 
Smith's  cool  response  to  this  was,  "  I  expect  you  to 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALKY.  87 

obey  orders."  The  rebels  now  dosed  ill  on  three  sides, 
and  without  further  orders,  the  entire  regiment  plunged 
into'  the  fight,  regardless  of  consequences  or  support. 
The  slaughter  was  fearful,  but  as  our  boys  who  were 
well  armed,  kept  covered  as  well  as  possible,  the  loss 
on  the  rebel  side  was  probably  the  greatest.  Seeing 
that  the  boys  would  not  run  any  farther,  the  brigade 
was  sent  back,  and  the  Second  Iowa  relieved  by  the 
Seventh  and  Ninth  Illinois.  The  enemy  still  pressed 
hard,  but  as  the  rear  was  now  allowed  to  stop  and  fight 
no  farther  advantages  were  gained  by  him.  Darkness 
soon  set  in,  but  Forrest  did  not  discontinue  the  pursuit 
until  he  had  been  twice  ambushed  and  sorely  punished 
by  the  rifles  of  the  Ninth  Illinois.  Among  those  who 
distinguished  themselves  for  coolness  and  bravery,  while 
the  Second  Iowa  was  engaged  in  this  fight,  should  stand 
prominent  the  name  of  Paul  A.  Queal,  Captain  com 
manding  the  second  battalion.  The  Second  Iowa  left 
fifty  brave  fellows  on  this  field,  which  was  more  than 
we  ever  before  lost  in  any  one  day.  The  fight  did  not 
terminate  until  10  o'clock,  p.  M.  We  continued  the 
retreat  until  2  o'clock,  A.  M.,  when  we  camped  for  three 
hours,  resuming  our  march  at  daylight  on  the  morning 
of  the  22d. 

The  third  brigade,  CoL  McCrellis  commanding,  took 
the  rear,  the  battery  which  formerly  belonged  to  the 
Sixth  Illinois  being  turned  over  to  them.  As  the  rear 
passed  Okolona,  early  in  the  forenoon,  the  rebels- 
charged  McCrellis'  brigade,  stampeding  it  and  captur 
ing  five  pieces  of  the  cannon  received  from  our  brigade 
but  a  few  hours  before.  Our  brigade  was  now  ordered 
to  the  rear  again  on  the  gallop,  where  a  line  was  quick- 
lv  formed  and  the  exultant  foe  checked.  The  advance 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


and  iiank  guards  were  taken  from  the  second  brigade, 
who  were  also  required  to  form  the  line  of  battle  in 
the  rear.  The  stampede,  which  commenced  with  the 
Fourth  regulars  and  Second  New  Jersey,  had  now  be 
come  so  general  in  the  first  and  third  brigades,  that 
upon  the  second  -brigade  alone,  could  there  be  any  de 
pendence  placed  to  save  the  command  from  capture. 
Some  regiments  from  the  other  brigades  did  well,  but 
as  brigades,  they  were  too  badly  stampeded  to  be  trust 
ed.  The  road  in  rear  of  the  line  of  battle  presented 
truly  a  deplorable  scene.  To  the  train  of  contrabands, 
1,500  strong,  was  added  double  that  number  of  demor 
alized  soldiers,  skulking  from  the  fight;  these,  with  3,000 
lead  horses  and  mules,  together  with  -a  long  train  of 
wagons  and  ambulances,  all  mingled  in  one  stampeded 
mass,  moved  like  an  avalanche  to  the  rear.  At  one 
time  this  mass  or  mob,  which  was  over  one.fourth  of  a 
mile  in  width  and  miles  in  length,  was  moving  off  with 
out  advance  or  fiank  guard,  or  commander.  This  stam 
pede  was  in  full  view  of  Forrest's  army,  and  separated 
from  them  but  by  one  line  of  battle,  in  which  there  was 
not  more  than  4,000  men  who  could  be  trusted.  I  need 
not  tell  the  reader  that  the  fighting  here  was  bloody. 
Our  boys  had  a  favorable  position  and  bravely  did  they 
ply  their  faithful  rifles.  The  rebels  charged  and  were 
repulsed  by  countercharges.  Camion  were  taken  and 
retaken.  When  once  repulsed,  the  enemy,  who  were 
determined  to  secure  the  stampeded  prize  before  them, 
would  reform  and  come  down  with  redoubled  fury. 
Our  lines,  however,  under  the  guidance  of  Gen.  Grier- 
son,  firmly  resisted  every  assault  until  reinforced  by 
darkness,  by  the  aid  of  whose  friendly  cover,  they  with 
drew  from  the  field.  This  engagement  conclusively 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALKY.  89 

established  the  fact  that  even  one-lialf  of  Smith's  army 
were  equal  to  the  task  of  coping  with  the  enemy,  if  but 
allowed  to  stand  and  fight,  but  the  trouble  was  our 
brigade  and  division  commanders  were  whipped  by 
Forrest's  first  assault  on  the  21st,  and  no  amount  of 
pleadings,  from  those  subordinate,  could-  induce  them 
to  terminate  this  disgraceful  run  by  an  honorable  stand. 
'Tis  but  just,  however,  to  Gen.  Smith  to  add,  that  he 
was  very  unwell  during  this  trip,  and  wholly  unable  to 
be  in  command  of  such  an  expedition  ;  besides  this,  he 
was  an  infantry  officer,  doubtlessly  well  qualified  in 
that  branch  of  service,  though  lamentably  wanting  in 
the  necessary  requirements  for  a  cavalry  chief.  Gen. 
Grierson,  rather  by  common  consent,  as  well  as  from 
the  necessity  of  things,  assumed  the  direction  of  affairs 
as  soon  as  darkness  put  an  end  to  the  battle  of  the  22d, 
and  to  him  we  owe  our  salvation  from  capture. 

Placing  a  guard  across  the  road  in  front  of  the  stam 
pede,  he  ordered  them  to  halt,  every  man,  black  or 
white,  and  kill  any  one  who  refused  to  obey  the  order ; 
at  the  same  time,  directing  that  each  soldier,  found 
among  the  stampede,  should  be  driven  into  a  lot  desig 
nated  for  the  reception  of  the  brigade  to  which  he 
belonged.  A  different  field  was  set  apart  for  each 
brigade,  and  the  officers  of  the  same  sent  in  there  to 
re-assort  the  men  and  send  each  to  his  own  company 
and  regiment.  This  course,  in  about  four  hours, 
brought  the  command  in  sometiug  like  fighting  trim 
again,  when  Grierson  ordered  them  to  move  out  in 
the  following  order  :  First,  McCrellis'  brigade,  followed 
by  the  negroes,  led  horses  and  train,  moved  out  on  the 
run,  and  made  for  the  Tallahatchie  with  the  greatest 
possible  speed.  Next  came  Waring's  brigade,  followed 
12 


90  HISTOUY    OF    THE 

by  the  second  brigade,  Lieut.-Col.  Hepburn  commanc 
ing,  the  Seventh  Illinois,  supported  by  the  Secom 
Iowa  and  Sixth  Illinois,  taking  the  rear.  The  enem 
pressed  closely  for  a  while,  but  'lie  soon  learned  tha 
fight  was  the  order  of  the  day  if  we  were  pressed,  cor 
sequently  about  10  A.  M.,  the  hard  fighting  ceased,  an< 
we  continued  our  march  to  the  ford,  at  New  Albany 
unmolested.  We  were  safely  across  the  river  by  < 
o'clock,  p.  M.,  of  the  23d. 

For  sixty  hours  previous  to  this,  we  had  '  been  in  a] 
most  incessant  battle  with  the  enemy,  without  sleep  o] 
food,  and  as  may  be  supposed,  we  Were  very  much  ex 
hausted  ;  but  now  that  we  were  beyond  the  balls  of  th< 
foe,  we  were  also  out  of  the  country  where  rations  conic 
be  obtained.     We  moved  out  on  the  Waterford  road 
hoping  to  find  the  much  needed  supplies  of  eatables 
We  were  destined  to  traverse  many  a  weary  mile,  before 
the  object  of  our  search  should  be  within  our  grasp 
Midnight  came,  and  still  no  signs  of  forage  or  food  foi 
hungry  and  almost  famishing  beasts  or  men.     Most  oi 
the  soldiers  became  so  exhausted  as  to  fall  fast  asleep 
in  their  saddles,  and  thus  for  miles  would  they  ride  nod 
ding^  along,  to   the  great  merriment  of  those  who,  by 
the  friendly  scratch  of  some  limb,  or  the  falling  of  their 
horse,  had  been  so  aroused  as  to  see  their  sleepy  com 
rades.     Now  some  one,  thus  aroused,  would  play  a  trick 
upon  his  companion,  which  would  awake   him ;  he,  in 
turn,  would  trick  the  next  neighbor,  and  so  on  until 
perhaps  a  platoon  would  join  in  the  merry  laugh  which 
would    follow;  soon,  however,   the    excitement    thus 
aroused  would  die  down,  and  the  boys  again  drop  nod 
ding  off  to  the  land  of  dreams.     About  2  o'clock,  A.  M., 
we  came  upon  a  well  stocked  plantation,  which  afforded 


SECOND   IOWA    CAVALRY.  91 

the  requisite  supplies,  where  we  camped  until  about 
noon,  when  we  again  resumed  the  homeward  march  ; 
moving  in  three  columns  the  better  to  facilitate  the 
gathering  of  forage.  Crossing  the  Tippah  river  at 
Baysford,  our  brigade,  which  moved  in  the  centre,  pur 
sued  their  course  down  the  river. 

Just  as  we  were  going  into  camp  for  the  night  near 
Waterford,  a  staff  officer,  bestride  a  charger  white  with 
foam,  came  up  to  Gen.  Grierson,  who  was  with  our 
brigade,  with  the  startling  intelligence  that  McCrellis' 
brigade,  upon  our  right,  had  been  furiously  attacked 
t^hile  crossing  the  Tippah  river,  and  that  Smith,  fear- 
rul  of  their  ability  to  hold  them  in  check  until  aid  could 
reach  him,  wished  for  reinforcements  with  all  possible 
haste.  Accordingly,  Maj.  Coon,  with  such  men  from 
3ne  battalion  from  the  Sixth  Illinois,  and  two  battalions 
Tom  the  Second  Iowa,  as  were  mounted  on  horses  still 
able  to  strike  the  lope,  spurred  to  their  relief.  Upon 
reaching  the  spot  designated  by  the  messenger,  as  the 
acene  of  bloody  strife,  Maj.  Coon  found  McCrellis  and 
Smith  snugly  encamped,  and  learned  that  the  danger 
liad  been  but  imaginary,  the  scare  being  caused  by  a 
small  squad  of  guerrillas,  who  fired  upon  the  rear  guard 
just  before  the  falling  of  a  dead  tree  near  by,  the  report 
rf  this  tree  being  mistaken  for  artillery  firing.  We 
reached  our  camp  at  Germanton,  February  26th,  hav 
ing  been  out  sixteen  days. 

The  Federal  losses  in  this  expedition  were  400  men, 
six  cannon,  five  caissons,  two  ambulances  and  200  stand 
of  small  arms,  besides  over  2,000  horses  which  were 
ruined  by  the  exposure  of  the  march.  As  the  rebels 
were  the  attacking  party  in  nearly  all  the  fights,  their 
loss  was  likely  equally  heavy  in  men.  We  brought  in 


92  HISTORY   OF   THE 


with  us  1,500  negroes,  3,000  horses  and  mules,  mostly 
mules.  We  destroyed  over  forty  miles  of  railroad, 
millions  of  bushels  of  corn,  thousands  of  bales  of  C.  S. 
A.  cotton,  with  great  quantities  of  commissary  and 
quartermaster  stores. 

Great  efforts  were  now  made,  on  the  part  of  both  the 
general  government  and  the  officers  over  the  Second 
Iowa,  to  persuade  the  boys  to  enlist  as  veterans  for 
another  term  of  three  years.  Four  hundred  and  two 
dollars  bounty  was  offered  by  the  government,  to 
which  the  officers  added,  as  further  inducements,  the 
promise  that  the  veterans  should  be  allowed  to  elect 
their  officers,  and  that  the  men  elected  by  their  ballots 
should  receive  tie  commissions  to  which  they  were 
chosen.  K?,j.  Coon.  ?jid  Gen.  Grierson  both  pledged 
this  to  ::ie  boys.  Maj.  Coon  also  told  us  that  Governor 
Stone,  :>£  Icwa;  had  authorized  him  to  pledge  his  word 
that  tlie  commissions  should  be  issued  as  the  boys  should 
elect ;  abc,  that  GSR.  Hurlbert,  commanding  post,  and 
Sherman,  commanding  department,  had  authorized 
these  pledges  rcade.  Thus  assured,  the  boys  who  were 
anxious  to  see  the  end  of  a  struggle  in  which  they  had 
played  so  prominent  a  part,  re-enlisted  in  sufficient  num 
bers  to  make  the  regiment  a  veteran  organization. 
Company  "H"  was  the  first  to  be  sworn  in  this  enter 
prise.  The  re-enlistment  papers  bore  date,  March  1st, 
1864.  The  election  of  officers  resulted  as  follows  : 

For  Colonel,  Maj.  Datus  E.  Coon. 

"  Lieut-Colonel,  Capt.  Geo.  C.  Graves,  of  Co.  D. 
"  1st  Major,  Capt.  Chas.  C.  Horton,  of  Co.  A. 
"  2d  Major,  Capt.  Chas.  P.  Moore,  of  Co.  K. 
"  3d  Major,  Capt.  B.  P.  Stiles,  of  Co.  C. 


SECOND   IOWA  CAVALRY.  93 

For  Capt,  of  Co.  A,  Lieut.  D.  J.  Terrel. 

"  1st  Lieut.  "  "    Serg't  J.  M.  Terry. 

"  2d  Lieut.  "  "    Corp'l  Birney  McLain. 

"  Capt.  of   "  B,  Serg't  B.  A.  Beeson. 

"  1st  Lieut.  "  "    Serg't  John  L.  Herbert. 

"  2d  Lieut.  "  "    Serg't  H.  H.  Boyes. 

"  Capt.  of  "  C,  Capt.  B.  F.  Stiles. 

:  "  1st  Lieut.  "  "    1st  Lieut.  Michael  Connor. 

"  2d  Lieut.  "  "    Serg't  Isaac  Gillmor. 

"  Capt.  of  "  D,  Serg't  Frank  M.  Griffith. 

"  1st  Lieut.  "  "    Serg't  Arthur  S.  Catron. 

"  2d  Lieut.  "  "    Serg't  Richard  Barker. 

"  Capt.  of  "  E,  Capt.  Gustavus  Schniitzer. 

"  1st  Lieut.  "  "    Prhr'e  Chas.  Reese. 

"  2d  Lieut.  "  "    Serg't  John  Borchers. 

"  Capt.  of  "  F,  Lieut.  Harry  Babcock. 

"  1st  Lieut.  "  "    Lieu';.  Wm.  H.  Bulley. 

<  2d  Lieut.  f<  "    Serg't  Jas.  G.  Riley. 

"  Capt.   of  "  G,  Serg't  Chas.  S.  Miller. 

"  1st  Lieut.  "  "    Serg't  Ansel  R.  Clark. 

"  2d  Lieut.  "  "    Serg't  Chas.  Cope. 

"  Capt.  of  "  H,  Serg't  Thos.  J.  Harper. 

"  1st  Lieut.  "  "    Priv'e  Thos.  B.  Allen. 

"  2d  Lieut.  "  "    Corp'l  Henry  H.  Longwell. 

"  Capt.  of  "  I,   Lieut.  Ben.  K.  Watson. 

"  1st  Lieut.  "  "    Serg't  J.  C.  Smith. 

"  2d  Lieut.  "  "    Serg't  Henry  Trenchard. 

"  Capt.  of  "  K,  Serg't  Jas.  Fickel. 

"  1st  Lieut.  "  "    Corp'l  A.  R.  Heck. 

"  2d  Lieut.  "  "    Corp'l  G.  R.  Bradley. 

"  Capt.  of  "  L,  Serg't  Jas.  Crawford. 

"  1st  Lieut.  "  "    Priv'e  Geo.  W.  Kelsall. 

41  2d  Lieut.  "  "    Corp'l  G.  W.  Click. 


94  HISTORY    OF   THE 

For  Capt.  of  Co.  M,  Lieut.  T.  M.  Hamilton. 
"  1st  Lieut.  "  "  Lieut.  J.  R.  Humphry. 
"  2d  Lieut.  "  "  Serg't  Austin  A.  Scott. 

'Tis  proper  to  add,  that  from  some  unknown  cause, 
the  pledge  to  commission  the  above  named  men  was  not 
fulfilled,  and  but  a  very  small  per  cent,  of  them  re 
ceived  the  promised  promotions. 

The  war  had  now  raged  with  unremitted  fury  for 
three  years.  Armies,  such  as  the  world  had  never  be 
fore  seen,  had  been  sent  to  the  field  by  each  side  ;  they 
had  been  consumed  by  the  sword  or  in  hospitals,  and 
their  places  filled  by  others,  even  more  powerful.  All 
the  inventive  genius  of  the  age  had  been  taxed  to  its 
utmost,  to  construct  life-saving,  as  well  as  life-taking, 
implements.  The  struggle,  which  at  the  commencment 
was  thought  but  a  ripple  on  the  political  sea,  had 
proved  a  storm  more  dreadful  than  had  ever  passed  into 
history. 

From  the  Potomac  to  the  Rio  Grande  ;  from  the 
Missouri  river  to  the  Gulf,  was  one  vast  grave  yard, 
where  reposed  the  coffinless  remains  of  the  pride  and 
flower  of  the  land,  while  in  every  village,  and  in  nearly 
every  hamlet,  from  the  pineries  of  Maine,  to  the  rice 
swamps  in  Louisiana,  the  weeds  of  mourning  told  of  a 
loved  one  slain.  Our  country,  noted  for  her  anti-war 
proclivities,  had  exchanged  the  plow  for  the  sword,  and 
the  warlike  nations  of  the  globe  now  looked  upon  our 
battle  equipped  Eagle  with  mingled  feelings  of  reverence 
and  fear.  Three  years  of  the  bloodiest  strife  on  record 
had  passed,  and  still  each  side  stripped  himself  for  re 
doubled  exertions  in  another  campaign. 


SECOND    IOWA    CA  VALET.  $5 


SECOMD. 


CHAPTER    I. 

DATJ  or  MUSTER  AS  VETERANS — AGGREGATE  STRENGTH — VETERAN  FURLOUGH — 
COL.  HATCH  A  BRIGADIER — RECEPTIONS  IN  IOWA — MAJ.  COON  COMMISSIONED 
COLONEL — RETURNED  TO  MEMPHIS — DREW  SPENCER  CARBINES — GEN.  FORREST  A 
TERROR — GEN.  A.  J.  SMITH'S  TUPELO  RAID — ENEMY  SURPRISED  BY  OUR  SETIJI 
SHOOTERS— FIGHT  NEAR  RIPLEY — FIGHT  AT  PONTOTOC  —  SMITH'S  STRATEGY — 
TUPELO  FIGHT — BATTLE  OF  OLDTOWN  CREEK. 

The  Second  Iowa  Cavalry  Veteran  Volunteers,  was 
mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United  States,  March 
28th,  1864,  at  Memphis,  Tennessee. 

The  aggregate  strength  of  the  regiment  at  that  time 
was  1,088.  They  were  divided  as  follows:  Commis 
sioned,  45 ;  Veterans,  360 ;  Non- Veterans  and  re 
cruits,  683. 

The  veterans  and  most  of  the  officers  started  for 
Iowa  on  furlough,  April  7th,  ?64,  aboard  the  steamer  (7. 
E.  Hillman.  The  non- veterans  and  recruits  were  quar 
tered  in  Fort  Pickering,  Memphis,  for  garrison  duty, 
while  we  were  gone.  Lieut.-Col.  Hepburn,  Captain 
Goodrich,  and  Lieuts.  Dunham  and  Humphrey,  were 
left  in  charge  of  this  detachment. 

We  reached  St.  Louis  on  the  10th,  where  we  met  our 
former  Colonel,  now  General,  Hatch.  He  had  not  yet 
fully  recovered  from  his  wound,  although  he  was  able 


96   '  HISTORY    OF   THE 

to  have  command  of  the  cavalry  bureau  at  that  point 
We  were  detained  in  St.  Louis  one  day,  for  transpor 
tation.  While  there  we  were  Furnished,  through  th< 
agency  of  the  Major,  with  a  reception  dinner,  supper 
and  free  beer. 

We  passed  Burlington,  Iowa,  in  the  night,  and 
reached  Muscatine  at  8  o'clock,  A.  M.,  on  the  14th.  As 
our  boat  came  in  sight,  the  boom  of  cannon  welcomed 
us  to  the  home  of  our  General  Edward  Hatch.  As  oui 
boat  rounded  to,  the  air  was  vocal  with  the  cheers  from 
the  shore,  where  the  ladies  received  us  by  the  waving  oi 
handkerchiefs,  accompanied  by  that  approving  smile 
which  made  the  boys  feel  that  the  welcome  came  from 
the  heart;  then  followed  a  sumptuous  repast  for  the 
inner  man,  which  rather  eclipsed  the  "  hard  tack  and 
bacon,"  for  which  we  had  often  sighed  in  Dixie.  We 
could  not  halt  here  but  twenty  minutes,  when  we  pro 
ceeded  to  Davenport,  where  a  reception  dinner,  with 
cheers,  handkerchiefs,  and  smiles,  and  a  speech  from 
Judge  Dillon,  formed  a  part  of  the  welcome  awaiting 
us.  The  furloughs  were  then  given  out  and  each  sol 
dier  went  to  his  home  a  free  man  for  thirty  days. 

On  the  15th  of  May,  the  regiment  re-assembled  at 
Davenport.  Maj.  Datus  E.  Coon  returned  to  us  with 
the  eagle  upon  his  shoulder,  while  Capts.  C.  C.  Horton, 
Gustavus  Schmitzer  and  Chas.  P.  Moore,  had  replaced 
their  bars  with  the  Major's  leaf. 

We  left  D'avenport  for  St.  Louis,  May  17th,  Col.  Coon 
commanding.  We  reached  St.  Louis  on  the  20th, 
where  we  remained  six  days,  when  having  been  supplied 
with  horses,  we  took  a  boat  for  Memphis,  which  place 
was  reached  on  the  29th.  While  at  Memphis,  waiting 
for  our  arms,  we  were  called  upon  to  witness  the  awfully 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALKY.  97 

solemn  scene  of  the  execution,  by  sentence  of  a  court 
martial,  of  three  of  the  Second  New  Jersey  cavalry,  for 
the  crime  of  rape  and  robbery.  The  crime  was  commit 
ted  while  the  unfortunate  victims  were  on  picket,  in  a 
state  of  intoxication.  They  were  shot  in  front  of  Fort 
Pickering,  in  the  presence  of  10,000  soldiers  and  many 
thousand  citizens,  on  the  10th  of  June,  1864. 

On  the  19th  of  June  we  were  armed  with  Spencer's 
Seven  Shooting  Carbines.  This  was  the  best  arm  in 
service,  carrying  a  forced  ball,  and  so  arranged  that  the 
mounted  trooper  could  throw  fourteen  balls  from  it  per 
minute — dismounted,  a  little  more. 

The  rebel  Gen.  Forrest  had  been  very  active  during 
the  three  months  occupied  by  us  in  veteranizing  and 
re-equipping.  During  that  time,  much  of  the  cavalry 
about  Memphis,  had,  like  ourselves,  been  absent  on 
veteran  furlough.  Forrest  so  improved  the  advantage 
thus  offered  him,  as  to  make  his  name  a  source  of  terror 
to  the  entire  North.  The  inhuman  massacre  of  the  gar 
rison  of  Fort  Pillow,  by  Forrest's  troops,  had  been  fol 
lowed  by  the  unprecedented  defeat  and  rout  of  General 
Sturgis,  at  Guntown,  Tennessee,  and  none  were  found? 
able  to  cope  with  this  tower  of  cruelty  and  strength — 
this  Goliah  of  the  Confederacy. 

About  the  middle  of  June,  Brig.-Gen.  A.  J.  Smith 
was  ordered  to  Memphis  to  try  his  skill  in  this,  of  late, 
unfortunate  department. 

Being  now  well  mounted  and  armed,  we  were  ordered 
to  join  Smith's  forces  in  an  expedition  against  Forrest's 
headquarters,  at  Tupelo,  Mississippi.  Gen.  B.  H.  Grier- 
son  accompanied  the  expedition  in  command  of  the 
cavalry  division,  while  Col.  D.  E.  Coon  commanded  our 

brigade,  Maj.  Chas.    C.  Horton   commanding   Second 
13 


98  1I1STOKY    OF    THE 

Iowa.  Smith  moved  up  the  Memphis  and  Charleston 
railroad  as  far  as  Grand  Junction,  where,  on  the  5th  of 
July  he  cut  loose  from  railroad  communications  and  struck 
South  with  fifteen  days'  rations.  The  weather  was  op 
pressively  warm,  the  thermometer  being  100  degrees 
above  zero,  while  the  dust  was  almost  suffocating,  hence 
the  expedition  was  compelled  to  move  very  slowly. 

The  enemy's  pickets  were  found  on  the  morning  of 
the  7th.  The  Second  Iowa  were  in  advance.  As  soon 
as  our  videttes,  two  in  number,  saw  the  rebel  videttes, 
four  in  number,  they  charged  them  with  a  view  of  try 
ing  their  new  $pencens.  The  rebels  seeing  their  number, 
concluded  to  capture  them,  as  a  reward  for  their  audac 
ity  ;  hence  they  quietly  awaited  the  assault ;  but  our 
boys,  bringing  their  rifles  to  their  faces,  "pumped*"*  the 
lead  therefrom  with  such  rapidity,  while  yet  spurring 
forward,  that  two  of  the  Johnnies  were  dismounted,  and 
the  other  two  put  to  night  before  our  boys  had  traversed 
half  of  the  space  between  them  and  their  foes.  This 
firing  brought  the  rebel  reserve  in  line,  while  two  more 
Spencers  were  added  to  the  charging  squad  ;  these  four 
charged  the  reserve  and  put  it  to  flight,  as  the  videttes 
had  been  before. 

The  rebels  were  much  surprised  at  the  amount  of 
lead  thrown  by  so  small  a  force  in  so  short  a  time.  Two 
prisoners  were  captured  in  this  run,  and  as  soon  as  they 
recovered  from  their  fright,  they  asked  to  see  "  one  oi 
the  guns  you  all  fight  with,"  adding,  "  you  bring  them 
to  your  shoulder  and  hold  them  there,  while  a  contin 
ual  stream  of  lead  rolls  from  them  into  our  faces.  It  is 
no  use  for  us  to  fight  you' ens  with  that  kind  of  gun." 
A  few  days  after  this,  a  prisoner  asked  if  we  "loaded 
Sundays  and  fired  all  the  week."  The  rebels  now  fell 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  99 

slowly  Lack  until  they  reached  a  hill,  about  three  miles 
from  Bipley,  which  commanded  an  open  field,  across 
which  an  assaulting  force  must  approach.  On  this  hill 
they  made  a  determined  stand.  A  line  of  battle  was 
now  formed  by  a  part  of  the  regiment  and  the  advance 
ordered.  The  rebels  held  their  fire  until  this  line  was 
half  across  the  field,  when  they  showered  forth  volley 
after  volley,  so  rapidly  that  the  dust  created  by  their 
balls  as  they  struck,  arose  in  a  cloud  sufficient 
to  almost  obscure  the  line  from  view ;  fortunately  for 
us,  however,  the  first  volley  from  the  enemy,  who  were 
upon  a  high  hill,  was  aimed  too  high  and  did  no  dam 
age,  and  before  the  second  volley  could  be  fired,  the 
boys  had  taken  cover  in  a  friendly  ditch,  that  was  prov 
identially  at  hand.  From  the  cover  of  this  ditch  the 
boys  engaged  the  attention  of  the  enemy,  until  Major 
Horton  gained,  with  one  battalion,  his  left  fiank.  Just 
as  Maj.  Horton  struck  the  fiank,  the  centre  joined  them 
in  a  charge,  and  the  enemy  were  instantly  put  to  flight, 
leaving  four  of  their  dead  in  our  hands.  They  took 
their  wounded  off  with  them ;  twelve  of  these  were  left 
in  Bipley  that  night,  and  fell  into  our  hands  on  the  fol 
lowing  morning.  We  lost  none  in  this  action.  Among 
the  rebel  dead  was  an  orderly  with  a  dispatch  on  his 
person  to  Maj. Gen.  Forrest,  stating  that  the  Yankees 
had  been  handsomely  repulsed,  and  were  in  full  retreat 
towards  La  Grange ;  also  asking  for  reinforcements  to 
follow  and  capture  them.  This  dispatch  was  probably 
written  while  the  centre  was  waiting  for  Maj.  Horton 
to  make  the  fiank  movement  spoken  of  above.  As  the 
rebels  retreated  through  Bipley,  they  told  the  citizens 
they  had  "  more  than  salivated  the  Yan&$,  while  they 
had  lost  but  twenty-five  men  themselves."  The  reader 


100  HISTORY  OF    THE 

is  already  aware  that  it  was  a  bloodless  victory  on  our 
part.  Little  farther  resistance  was  offered  us  until  we 
neared  Pontotoc  on  the  10th,  when  the  foe  appeared  in 
force  in  front  of  the  Seventh  Kansas  cavalry  who 
were  in  advance.  Pontotoc  was  entered  by  Smith's 
army  on  the  llth.  As  the  centre,  lead  by  the  Sev. 
enth  Kansas  cavalry,  neared  the  place,  the  enemy  threw 
a  heavy  line  in  their  front,  just  north  of  town.  Just  at 
this  time  Col.  Coon,  commanding  second  brigade,  came 
up  from  the  east  side.  Coon  pressed  forward  slowly 
until  near  the  suburbs,  when  he  turned  to  Capt.  Bandy 
commanding  company  "  K,"  addressing  him  as  follows: 
"Captain,  take  your  company  and  put  the  rebels  through 
that  town."  Shall  I  charge  them  ?  said  the  Captain. 
"  Don't  care  a  d — m  what  you  do,"  replied  the  "  same 
old  Coon,"  as  the  boys  called  the  Colonel. 

Bandy  moved  his  company  forward  in  platoon  col 
umn,  supported  by  company  "  L,"  Lieut.  Crawford  com 
manding.  He  was  soon  greeted  by  a  volley  from  the 
rebels  secreted  behind  the  fences  and  houses  of  the 
town ;  his  quick  eye  readily  saw  the  advantages  the 
enemy  possessed  over  him,  being  thus  covered,  and  he 
ordered  the  charge.  The  ground  was  so  broken  as  to 
compel  the  chargers  to  move  "  by  fours ;"  as  soon  as 
Bandy  reached  the  streets  of  the  town,  however,  he 
formed  platoons  without  checking  the  speed  of  the 
horses.  The  rebels  fired  a  volley,  which  whistled  h|irm- 
lessly  around  the  boys'  ears,  and  then  hurried  with  all 
haste  to  the  rear.  The  chase  through  the  town  was 
truly  exciting  ;  the  rebels  freely  used  the  spur,  while 
our  boys  followed  closely  pumping  a  continuous  stream 
of  lead  after  them  from  their  invincible  seven  shooters. 
In  two  minutes  but  two  rebels  were  left  in  Pontotoc,  and 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALEY.  10 1 

they  were  dead.  This  was  to  us  a  bloodless  victory, 
as  the  one  near  Ripley  on  the  7th  had  been. 

Forrest  now  took  up  a  strong  position  about  three  miles 
south  of  town,  while  Smith,  not  wishing  to  follow 
further  on  that  line,  halted  his  infantry  in  Pontotoc, 
placing  the  cavalry  on  picket,  in  Forrest's  front,  while 
Maj.  Moore,  with  a  battalion  of  the  Second  Iowa,  made 
a  feint  upon  their  works,  and  then  fell  back  upon  the 
main  force.  On  the  following  day,  the  Ninth  Illinois 
cavalry  made  another  feint  upon  the  rebel  works.  They 
went  a  little  too  far  and  were  partially  ambushed,  and 
were  compelled  to  cut  their  way  out,  with  a  loss  of 
eight  men. 

Forrest,  greatly  elated  by  his  success  in  thus  check 
ing  what  he  took  to  be  a  grand  advance  of  Smith's 
army,  set  vigorously  to  work  fortifying  his  position, 
while  he  sent  for  all  his  available  force  at  Tupelo,  to 
join  him  to  aid  in  the  capture  of  "  Whisky  Smith,"  as 
the  rebels  called  our  General,  and  who,  Forrest  said,  he 
had  now  got  just  where  he  wanted  him.  The  loss  of  the 
Ninth  Illinois,  spoken  of  above,  and  one  man  killed 
from  the  Seventh  Kansas,  was  all  the  loss  Smith  had 
sustained,  although  he  had  driven  Forrest  over  thirty 
miles,  and  taken  from  him  two  strong  positions,  inflict 
ing  a  loss  of  thirty  upon  him. 

Smith  allowed  Forrest  to  think  him  defeated  for 
thirty-six  hours,  while  his  army  got  a  little  rest.  On  the 
night  of  the  12th,  he  notified  the  commanders  of  his 
pickets,  that  his  army  would  move  out  by  the  left  flank, 
at  midnight,  and  ordered  them  to  follow  at  daylight, 
taking  the  Tupelo  road. 

This  move  completely  fooled  this  wily  rebel  gen 
eral,  and  as  the  pickets  paced  their  beat  that  night, 


102  HISTORY    OF    THE 

they  could  hear  the  Confederate  soldiers,  busy  with  the 
axe,  pick  and  spade,  as  they  extended  and  perfected 
their  fortifications,  preparatory  to  the  attack  whicl 
Smith  was  expected  to  make  on  the  following  day, 
What  then  was  their  surprise,  when  on  the  morning  oi 
the  13th  of  July,  they  learned  that  Smith  had  quietly 
moved  around  their  right,  and  was  then  completely  in 
their  rear,  rapidly  moving  upon  their  base  at  Tupelo, 
With  wonted  intrepidity,  Forrest  determined  to  offset 
this  out-generaling  move  of  his  Yankee  adversary,  by  a 
flank  attack  upon  his  train.  For  this  purpose  he  massed 
his  cavalry,  and  about  10  A.M.  they  struck  the  centre 
of  our  train  with  so  much  fury,  that  for  a  few  minutes 
they  created  quite  a  panic  among  the  frightened  team 
sters.  Three  wagons  were  ruined  and  fifteen  mules 
killed.  This  success,  however,  was  of  short  duration, 
and  Forrest  was  soon  to  learn  that  he  was  not  dealing  with 
Gen.  Sturgis.  No  sooner  did  the  victorious  rebels  be 
gin  their  work  of  destruction,  than  Col.  Kendrick,  com 
manding  colored  brigade,  and  who  wras  detailed  as  train 
guard,  pounced  upon  them  with  such  resistless  fury,  that 
the  rebels  were  glad  to  escape  with  flight,  with  heavy 
loss.  I  should  have  remarked  above,  that  as  Vhe  differ 
ent  pickets  followed  the  column  in  the  morning,  one 
battalion  of  the  Third  Iowa  cavalry,  were  so  late  reach 
ing  Pontotoc,  as  to  find  themselves  cut  off  by  a  rebel 
force  that  had  entered  the  town  before  them,  by  another 
road.  Deeming  it  safer  to  cut  through  the  foe  than  to 

O  o 

attempt  to  run  around  them,  these  gallant  fellows  drew 
their  sabres  and  came  down  upon  the  astonished  rebels 
so  furiously,  that  they  fled  before  them,  and  the 
chargers  joined  our  column  without  loss. 

Forrest,  who  never  loses  courage  by  defeats,  made  a 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  103 

second  attempt  upon  our  train,  as  it  passed  the  cross 
roads,  before  reaching  Harrisburg.  But  this  time  they 
run  upon  the  white  infantry  of  the  "  fighting  Joe  Mow 
er,"  and  paid  dearly  for  their  folly. 

Smith  now  entered  Tupelo.  He  quickly  formed  a 
line  of  battle  upon  a  semi-circular  hill,  with  his  centre 
resting  at  Harrisburg,  while  either  flank  rested  on  a 
swamp.  The  rear  was  also  protected  by  a  swamp  just 
east  of  Tupelo.  The  train  was  correUed  in  the  rear  of 
his  battle  line,  and  the  cavalry  placed  around  the  swamp 
as  picket. 

Smith  now  occupied  the  very  spot  of  ground  which 
Forrest  had  selected  for  his  own  army,  while  he  should 
fight  and  defeat  Smiths  guerrillas,  as  this  army  was 
called  while  eno;ao;ed  with  Banks  in  the  Heel  River  ex- 

o    o 

pedition.  Smith  had  so  out-generaled  Forrest  at  Pon- 
totoc  as  to  draw  him  out  of  this  strong  hold,  and  com 
pel  him  to  assume  the  offensive  under  the  most  unfa 
vorable  circumstances.  With  his  army  thus  stationed, 
he  joyfully  awaited  the  morning  of  the  14th  of  July, 
which  he  rightly  guessed  would  bring  with  it  an  attack 
from  the  rebel  army.  Slight  breastworks  were  thrown 
up,  and  the  centre  and  probable  point  of  attack  placed 
under  the  immediate  eye  of  Gen.  Mower,  who  would 
rather  fight  than  eat. 

Forrest  opened  the  ball  by  a  fierce  attack  at  daylight 
on  the  morning  of  the  14th,  and  a  little  after  sunrise 
the  entire  line  was  engaged.  Maddened  by  his  former 
reverses,  the  rebel  leader  determined  to  retrieve  his  for 
tune  at  whatever  cost  of  life.  As  he  could  not  flank, 
because  of  the  swamps  covering  Smith's  flanks,  he  re 
solved  upon  a  direct  assault  in  front.  In  order  the 
better  to  inspire  his  men  with  confidence  he  harangued 


104  HISTOKY    OF    THE 

them  just  before  the  attack,  telling  them  that  Smith 
had  but  a  small  force  of  conscript  recruits,  and  although 
they  might  present  a  bold  front  at  first,  all  that  was  re 
quired  to  insure  perfect  success,  was  an  intrepid,  persist 
ent  assault.  Duped  by  this  speech  of  their  chieftain, 
they  advanced,  with  a  bravery  worthy  of  a  better  cause 
and  a  better  fate,  across  the  open  field,  in  front  of  the 
hill  behind  which  Mower's  veterans  were  concealed, 
The  Federal  troops  awaited  the  shock  with  pleasure, 
conscious  of  their  strength  and  advantage  of  position. 
No  effort  was  made  to  check  the  rebel  advance,  until 
they  were  within  easy  range,  when,  at  the  bid  of  theii 
leader,  our  boys  sprang  from  their  cover,  and  the  earth 
resounded  with  their  cheers  and  the  roar  of  their  well 
aimed  death-dealing  pieces.  'Tis  saying  nothing  against 
the  bravery  of  the  rebels  to  state  that  they  quailed  be 
fore  this  unexpected  volley,  as  before  the  resistless 
shock  of  an  earthquake.  The  Federals  now  sprang 
forward,  and  completed  with  the  bayonet  the  work 
their  bullets  had  so  nobly  begun.  Hundreds  of  the 
Confederate  army  now  lay  bleeding  upon  the  field, 
while,  owing  to  the  completeness  of  their  cover,  our 
loss  had  been  very  small.  Still  Forrest  seemed  but 
frenzied  by  his  misfortunes,  and  with  a  fiendish  disre 
gard  for  consequences,  drove  his  men  to  the  slaughter. 
This  devil  incarnate,  placed  himself,  with  his  subordi 
nate  officers,  in  the  rear  of  the  army,  and  with  sword 
and  pistol  compelled  them  to  renew  the  attack,  shooting 
such  as  refused.  Not  until  these  wretched  victims  of  a 
slave  aristocracy  had  been  thus  driven  into  this  slaugh 
ter-pen,  four  times,  and  as  often  expelled  with  fearful 
loss,  did  this  fool-hardy  general  withdraw  his  shattered 
forces. 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  105 

The  field  presented  truly  a  sickening  appearance  even 
to  the  battle-hardened  soldier.  The  mutilated  and 
lifeless  bodies  of  the  rebel  soldiery  lay  so  thick  in  front 
of  our  lines  that  the  spectator  could  almost  walk  over 
the  field  upon  them.  Smith  now  devoted  himself  to 
the  destruction  of  the  railroad,  of  which  he  made  a 
complete  wreck  for  miles,  by  burning  all  the  bridges 
and  trestle-work  and  upsetting  the  track  off  the  grade. 
"While  this  was  going  on,  an  unfortunate  mistake  occur 
red  with  the  pickets  on  the  south  of  Tupelo.  The 
Fourth  Iowa  cavalry  were  on  post  there,  supported  by 
Capt.  Bandy,  with  companies  "  A,"  "  I "  and  "  K,"  of 
the  Second  Iowa,  when  Capt.  Woodward,  A.  A.  A.  G. 
for  Gen.  Grierson,  approached  the  pickets  on  this  road 
from  the  outside.  The  videttes  of  the  Fourth  Iowa 
fired  upon  him  and  his  escort  without  halting  him.  He 
returned  to  Gen.  Grierson,  who  was  off  to  the  right  of 
the  pickets,  and  reported  a  rebel  picket  on  that  road. 
Grierson,  supposing  the  enemy  had  gained  this  position 
from  the  swamp  at  the  left,  and  feeling  that  if  not  at 
once  dislodged  the  train  would  be  in  danger,  ordered 
Maj.  Moore  to  take  companies  "B,"  "L"  and  "M," 
and  with  them  hurry  to  the  spot,  and  drive  in  that 
picket,  and  capture  it  if  possible.  As  Moore  neared 
the  scene,  the  videttes  heard  him,  and  fired  upon  him 
before  he  could  be  seen  through  the  thick  brush  sur 
rounding  the  post.  This  reassured  Moore  as  to  the 
nature  of  the  enemy  with  whom  he  had  to  do  ;  and 
dismounting  his  force  he  sent  them  forward.  The 
Fourth  Iowa  videttes  fell  back,  and  Capt.  Bandy  quickly 
dismounted  his  men  and  rushed  them  forward,  deter 
mined  to  hold  the  post  at  all  hazards,  until  reinforce 
ments  should  arrive.  Each  side  were  ordered  to  hold 
14 


106  HISTOKY    OF    TliE 

their  fire  until  within  easy  range.  In  obedience  to  these 
orders  they  advanced  in  silence.  The  troops  on  both 
sides  kept  so  well  covered  by  the  brush  that  their 
uniforms  were  not  seen  until  just  as  the  order  to  open 
the  bloody  fray  was  about  to  come  from  the  lips  which 
held  the  destiny  of  both  sides,  when  a  soldier  from 
company  "  B"  recognized  one  of  the  boys  in  company 
"  K,"  and  by  promptly  reporting  the  same,  the  affair 
was  checked  before  the  blood-letting  commenced.  As- 
the  forces  opposed  to  each  other  here  were  of  very 
nearly  equal  numerical  strength,  and  all  armed  with 
Spencer's  carbines,  and  each  advancing  determined  to 
succeed  at  whatever  cost,  the  fight  would  have  been 
bloody  in  the  extreme,  had  the  mistake  not  been  dis 
covered  in  time.  As  it  was,  one  of  the  Fourth  Iowa 
was  killed. 

Forrest  withdrew  his  forces  a  few  miles,  and  reorgan 
ized  them  for  another  attack  on  the  following  day. 
Accordingly  on  the  morning  of  the  15th,  he  again  ad 
vanced  on  Mower  who  still  held  his  old  position  at 
Harrisburg.  This  attack  was  made  while  Smith,  who 
had  completed  the  work  he  was  ordered  to  do,  was 
moving  his  train  back  toward  Pontotoc.  The  attack 
was  made  with  determination,  and  raged  bloodily  for 
two  hours,  when  it  terminated,  as  the  others  had  doney 
with  the  complete  overthrow  of  the  rebels. 

The  rebel  loss  in  these  actions  was  between  1500  and 
2000.  Ours  was  not  more  than  450  or  500. 

Smith  now  moved  slowly  towards  Pontotoc,  while 
Forrest  followed  at  a  respectful  distance,  closely  watch 
ing  for  a  chance  to  gain  some  advantage,  by  the  turns 
of  fortune,  which  he  now  saw  he  could  not  accomplish 
by  fair  fighting. 


SECOND    IOWA    CAY  ALKY.  107 

Smith's  mode  of  moving  a  column  deserves  notice : 
First  came  a  division  of  infantry  as  advance,  with  one 
regiment  of  cavalry  for  advance  guard.  Then  came 
the  train  with  six  infantrymen  marching  by  each  side 
of  each  wagon.  In  the  middle  of  the  train  was  a  bat 
tery,  while  on  each  flank  moved  a  cavalry  column 
stretching  the  entire  length  of  the  train.  Cavalry 
flankers  were  still  outside  of  this  cavalry  column,  and 
every  by-road  picketed  by  the  cavalry  until  the  entire 
train  was  past.  Then  in  the  rear  of  the  train  followed 
the  balance  of  the  army. 

We  camped  for  the  night  of  the  15th  on  Oldtown 
Creek.  Forrest  waited  until  the  majority  of  the  army 
was  over  this  creek,  when  he  furiously  charged  the 
rear  guard,  hoping  to  capture  them  before  reinforce 
ments  could  recross.  But  he  here  run  upon  the  Four 
teenth  Iowa  and  the  colored  brigade  again,  who 
punished  him  severely  for  his  intrusion.  Disheartened 
by  his  repeated  reverses,  he  now  withdrew  his  army, 
and  Smith  returned  to  Memphis  with  little  more 
fighting. 

We  reached  our  camp  at  Memphis  on  the  24th  of 
July,  bringing  with  us  nearly  all  of  our  wounded.  The 
rebel  wounded  were  properly  dressed  by  our  surgeons, 
and  left  with  the  citizens  of  Tupelo. 

Smith  estimated  the  rebel  loss  in  this  campaign  at 
2500.  The  federal  loss  did  not  exceed  600. 


108  HISTORY    OF   THE 


CHAPTER    II. 

EXPEDITION  TO  OXFORD  UNDER  GEN.  A.  J.  SMITH-CROSSING  THE  TALLAHATCHIE-TIIE 
RAIN — CHARGE  OP  OXFORD — RECONNOISSANCE  BY  CAPTS.  MCMANNUS  AND  BANDY 
— CHARGE  LED  BY  SERG'T  COULTER— BATTLE  OF  HURRICANE  CREEK — ATTACK  AT 
TALLAHATCHIE. 

The  enemy  rested  at  Memphis  ten  days  while  it  was 
being  refitted  for  another  campaign. 

On  the  2d  of  August,  Smith  again  left  Memphis  with 
a  large  army,  Brig.-Gen.  E.  Hatch,  being  in  command 
of  the  cavalry  division.  This  was  Gen.  Hatch's  first 
field  service  since  his  wound,  from  which  he  had  never 
yet  entirely  recovered.  The  second  cavalry  brigade, 
consisting  of  the  Second  Iowa,  and  the  Sixth  and  Ninth 
Illinois  cavalry,  was  commanded  by  Col.  Coon ;  Major 
Chas.  C.  Horton,  commanding  the  Second  Iowa. 

We  moved  up  the  M.  C.  R.  R.  as  far  as  Grand  Junc 
tion,  when  we  took  down  the  Mississippi  Central  to 
Waterford.  This  railroad  had  not  been  in  use  since  we 
destroyed  it  in  the  fall  of  1862,  hence  it  required  much 
repairing,  which  was  done  under  the  immediate  eye  of 
Gen.  Hatch,  who  remained  with  the  construction  train 
until  the  work  was  completed. 

On  the  7th  of  August,  Col.  Coon  made  a  feint  down 
the  Tallahatchie  river  to  the  crossing  at  Wyette.  This 
move  was  designed  to  cover  a  move  of  the  main  force, 
who,  at  the  same  time,  forced  a  crossing  near  Waterford 
where  a  bridge  was  built.  Col.  Coon  returned  to  Wa- 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  109 

terford  and  crossed  the  river  there  on  the  9th,  where 
he  rejoined  the  division.  Hatch  now  pressed  forward, 
forcing  the  rebels  from  their  fortifications  on  the  hill, 
south  of  the  bridge,  where  the  enemy  lost  one  piece  of 
cannon.  The  first  brigade,  Col.  Herrick,  of  the  Seventh 
Kansas  cavalry,  commanding,  held  the  advance  and 
forced  the  rebels  back  in  a  sharp  skirmish  until  they 
neared  Oxford,  where  artillery  was  briskly  used  on  both 
sides. 

Col.  Coon  was  here  ordered  to  take  the  advance  with, 
the  second  brigade.  The  Ninth  Illinois  cavalry  were 
ordered  to  move  rapidly  by  the  right  flank,  and  strike 
'the  road  in  the  rear  of  town.  As  soon  as  Col.  Coon 
thought  the  Ninth  Illinois  had  had  time  to  gain  the  de 
sired  locality,  he  ordered  the  Second  Iowa  forward  to  a 
direct  assault.  The  first  battalion,  Maj.  Schmitzer 
commanding,  and  the  second  battalion,  Capt.  Foster 
commanding,  were  sent  forward  dismounted.  As  soon 
as  they  reached  the  edge  of  town,  the  third  battalion, 
Maj.  Moore  commanding,  rushed  forward  on  a  mounted 
charge.  As  they  reached  the 'court  house,  they  ob 
tained  a  view  of  the  rapidly  retreating  enemy.  The 
boys  spurred  forward  with  all  possible  rapidity,  but 
could  not  overtake  the  rebel  column.  The  Ninth  Illi 
nois  were  detained  by  bad  roads,  and  did  not  get  up  in 
time  to  cut  off  the  enemy,  as  we  had  hoped  they  would. 
In  their  haste,  however,  the  Confederates  were  com 
pelled  to  abandon  a  caisson,  filled  with  fixed  ammuni 
tion,  which  fell  into  Maj.  Horton's  possession.  The 
Second  Iowa  lost  none  in  this  action.  The  Seventh 
Kansas  had  five  men  wounded. 

We  remained  in  Oxford  over  night,  feasting  from  the 
chickens,  turkeys,  hams,  eggs,  potatoes,  flour,  etc.,  in 


110  HISTORY    OF    THE 

which  the  city  abounded.  Many,  and  indeed  most,  of 
the  citizens  looked  as  if  they  were  rather  unwilling  con 
tributors  to  our  stock  of  rations,  but  the  hungry  soldier 
cares  little  whether  what  he  wants  \&  freely  donated,  or 
per  force  of  circumstances.  The  next  day  we  returned 
to  the;{main  column  at  Abbeyville.  By  accident,  com 
pany  "  D  "  were  left  on  picket,  several  miles  south  of 
Oxford,  when  the  division  evacuated  the  place.  The 
blunder  was  not  discovered  until  the  column  was  some 
four  miles  from  town,  when  Maj.  Horton  moved  the 
Second  Iowa  back  upon  "  gallop  march,"  Fortunately, 
the  enemy  had  not  discovered  the  error,  and  the  picket 
was  relieved  in  safety.  The  enemy  followed  us  back, 
throwing  their  picket  upon  a  hill  on  the  south  side  of 
Hurricane  Creek.  Our  picket  was  posted  on  a  hill  in 
the  north  of  the  creek,  two  miles  from  that  of  the  en 
emy.  About  midnight  on  the  eleventh  of  August  the 
rebels'  crossed  the  creek  and  crept  stealthily  upon  our 
picket.  The  darkness  was  so  great  that  a  vidette  could 
not  be  seen  at  a  distance  of  ten  yards. 

The  enemy  advancecl  undiscovered,  to  within  a  few 
paces  of  the  vidette,  when  one  of  them  snapped  a  cap, 
hoping  thus  to  draw  the  vidette's  fire,  by  the  light  of 
which  the  balance  expected  to  be  able  to  shoot  them. 
The  strategy  did  not  succeed,  however ;  the  videttes 
prudently  held  their  fire  until  after  that  of  the  enemy, 
whose  balls  did  no  damage,  and  who  were  quickly 
repulsed  without  loss  to  our  side.  The  next  day  Capt. 
McMannus  of  the  Ninth  Illinois,  and  Capt  Bandy  of 
the  Second  Iowa,  with  two  companies  of  each  regiment 
attacked  the  enemy's  pickets  and  drove  them  in  upon 
the  main  force,  in  a  brisk  skirmish  of  two  hours  dura 
tion.  As  they  neared  the  rebel  camp  they  were  met 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  Ill 

by  a  raking  fire  of  grape  and  cannister,  when  they  fell 
back  to  their  old  line  of  pickets.  As  on  former  occa 
sions  the  enemy's  cavalry  followed  our  patrol  in,  taking 
up  their  former  position. 

Upon  reaching  the  picket-post  the  boys  received  a  mail 
— the  first  for  many  days — and  as  may  be  supposed, 
they  were  so  absorbed  for  a  few  moments,  with  their  let. 
ters  from  home,  as  to  in  a  measure  avert  their  attent  ion 
from  their  duty  as  pickets.  Just  at  this  juncture  the 
enemy's  cavalry  furiously  attacked  the  videttes.  Sergt. 
Moore,  with  a  platoon  of  Company  "  D  "  was  on  post 
at  the  time.  They  scarcely  had  time  to  notify  the  re 
serve  of  danger  by  the  discharge  of  their  pieces,  before 
the  rebels  were  upon  them,  and  they  were  compelled  to 
flee  for  their  lives.  Sergt.  Coulter  instantly  rushed  to 
the  reserve  with  a  platoon  of  Company  "  K,"  who  met 
and  repulsed  the  rebels  by  a  counter  charge.  Lieut. 
Fickel,  commanding  Company  "  K,"  and  Lieut.  Dang 
ler,  commanding  Company  "  D,"  soon  came  to  Coulter's 
support  with  their  companies,  and  the  ground  gained  by 
the  rebels  was  retaken.  The  fight  between  the  pickets 
continued  until  dark. 

The  next  day  the  Twelfth  Missouri  cavalry  held  this 
post.  The  enemy  repeated  on  them  the  tactics  of  the 
previous  day,  when  Lieut.  Col.  Brown  set  a  trap  for 
them.  The  result  of  this  trick  of  Col.  Brown's  was  the 
loss  of  tw  enty-seven  of  his  own  men,  instead  of  the  cap 
ture  of  the  rebel  assailants  as  he  had  fondly  hoped. 
This  picket  fighting  did  not  please  Gen.  Hatch,  and 
he  determined  to  punish  the  enemy  for  their  meddling. 
For  this  purpose,  he  immediately  moved  upon  their  for 
tifications  with  his  division. 

The  Sixth  and  Ninth  Illinois,  Lieut.  Col.  Starr  com- 


112  HISTORY    OF    THE 

manding,  was  sent  to  the  right,  while  Col.  Herrick, 
with  the  Seventh  Kansas  cavalry  took  the  left,  Major 
Horton,  with  the  Second  Iowa  and  a  battery  taking  the 
centre.  Through  the  carelessness  of  some  one,  the  ad 
vance  guard  of  the  Second  Iowa,  consisting  of  compa 
nies  "  B  "  and  "  I,"  Lieut  Stoddard  commanding,  were 
ambushed  before  reaching  the  rebel  works,  and  narrow 
ly  escaped,  with  a  loss  of  four  wounded  and  two  pris 
oners.  Major  Horton  now  fell  back  with  the  Second 
Iowa,  hoping  thereby  to  draw  the  rebel  centre  forward 
so  as  to  enable  Cols.  Herrick  and  Starr,  by  doubling 
their  flanks,  to  cut  off  his  retreat.  The  enemy  refused  to 
leave  their  works,  however,  and  Horton  advanced  and 
engaged  them  with  the  artillery,  while  Herrick  and 
Starr  devoted  themselves  earnestly  to  the  work  of 
doubling  them  up.  The  Sixth  and  Ninth  Illinois  ad 
vanced  across  an  open  field,  upon  the  rebel  works,  with 
such  intrepidity,  that  they  soon  possessed  themselves  of 
their  entire  line  of  fortifications  in  their  front.  This 
caused  the  enemy  to  retreat,  leaving  their  breastworks 
all  in  Hatch's  hands.  We  drove  the  rebels  through 
Oxford,  when  we  again  returned  to  our  old  position  on 
the  Tallahatchie.  The  loss  of  the  division  in  this  fisvht 

o 

was  six  killed,  thirty-three  wounded  and  two  prisoners. 
Why  we  were  ordered  to  fall  back  to  the  Tallahatchie 
after  every  engagement,  in  all  of  which  we  drove  the 
enemy  from  their  fortifications,  I  could  never  learn. 

On  the  19th  of  August,  Hatch  again  advanced  upon 
the  rebels,  who  occupied  the  same  line  from  which  we 
had  so  often  driven  them.  The  fortifications  were  cap 
tured  by  the  first  brigade,  Col.  Herrick  commanding, 
the  Seventh  Kansas  cavalry  taking  the  advance  in  the 
pursuit.  The  rain,  which  fell  in  torrents,  soon  rendered 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALKY.  113 

the  Sharp's  carbines,  with  which  the  Seventh  Kansas 
were  armed,  unserviceable,  when  the  Second  Iowa, 
whose  Spencer  carbines  were  impervious  to  rain,  were 
sent  to  relieve  them.  We  now  had  it  all  our  own  wayT 
for  the  rain  had  been  as  injurious  to  the  rifles  of  the 
enemy,  as  to  the  carbines  of  the  Seventh  Kansas,  while 
our  pieces  emitted  their  deadly  stream  with  as  much 
certainty  as  if  the  day  had  been  one  of  cloudless  beauty. 
We  drove  the  rebels  through  Oxford,  and  again  re 
turned,  in  obedience  to  orders-,  to  the  river,  the  rebels 
following  as  before.  For  the  next  two  days  a  continu 
ous  picket  fire  was  kept  up,  with  no  other  result  than 
the  consumption  of  ammunition. 

On  the  22d  of  August,  Smith  advanced  to  Oxford 
with  his  entire  army.  There  he  received  a  dispatch 
from  Memphis,  notifying  him  of  a  raid  upon  that  place 
by  Maj.-Gen.  Forrest,  and  ordering  him  to  return.  In 
compliance  with  this  order,  Smith  returned  to  the  Tal- 
lahatchie  and  started  his  train  across  the  bridge  near 
Waterford.  Just  as  the  third  team  got  upon  the  bridge, 
it  gave  way,  precipitating  the  teams  into  the  water. 
This  caused  the  army  to  bivouac  until  a  new  bridge 
could  be  constructed.'  Gen.  Chalmers,  who  had  followed 
our  rear  with  a  view  of  pouncing  upon  and  capturing 
the  rear  guard,  after  the  balance  of  the  force  should 
cross  the  river,  was  ignorant  of  this  accident  to  the 
bridge,  hence  he  waited  until  he  supposed  that  the  bulk 
of  the  army  had  had  time  to  cross,  when  he  furiously 
charged  the  rear.  The  pickets  were  not  yet  out,  and 
the  rebels  came  directly  into  the  camp  of  the  infantry, 
who  quickly  repulsed  them  with  a  loss  of  ten  killed  and 
nine  wounded,  left  in  our  hands.  The  Federal  loss  was 

none  killed  and  ten   wounded.      The  cavalry  pursued 
15 


114  HISTOKY    OF   THE 

the  retreating  enemy  back  to  Hurricane  Creek.  In  this 
pursuit  the  Seventh  Kansas  lost  one  man  killed. 

Eations  were  scarce,  and  the  boys  were  compelled  to  do 
a  great  deal  of  foraging  for  subsistance.  As  the  country 
in  all  directions  was  filled  with  roving  bands  of  rebel 
cavalry,  the  foraging  parties  were  in  much  danger, 
being  often  attacked  by  vastly  superior  numbers.  On 
the  26th  of  August,  ten  men  from  the  Second  Iowa  and 
Seventh  Kansas,  were  in  search  of  eatables,  some  ten 
miles  from  the  column,  when  they  were  beset  by  a  rebel 
force  of  twenty-five  cavalry.  They  were  in  a  house  at 
the  time  the  attack  was  made,  eating  dinner.  The 
picket,  H.  H.  Berner,  of  company  "  M,"  Second  Iowa, 
was  shot  at  the  first  onset,  and  then  the  rebels  charged 
into  the  yard  and  overpowered  the  balance  of  the  squad 
before  they  could  prepare  for  a  fight  or  mount  their 
horses  for  a  retreat.  The  horses  were  all  lost,  and  one 
of  the  squad  killed  and  six  wpunded. 

This  system  of  foraging  was  made  the  means  of  many 
great  wrongs  inflicted  upon  the  citizens.  As  the  men 
were  not  only  allowed,,  but  compelled,  to  forage  for 
food,  many  stopped  not  when  their  necessities  were 
supplied,  but  made  the  want  of  food  the  pretext  for 
escaping  from  the  column,  and  from  under  the  eye  of  an 
officer,  when  they  carried  on  a  wholesale  robbery  busi 
ness.  Money,  watches,  jewelry,  and  valuables  of  any 
kind  were  stolen  by  them,  calling  themselves  foragers ; 
they  were  literally  thieves,  and  robbing  banditti.  Gen. 
Hatch  allowed  foraging,  but  did  all  within  his  power 
to  prevent  this  theiving,  but  it  could  .not  be  stopped, 
because  of  the  difficulty  in  detecting  the  guilty.  It  is 
but  one  of  the  many  lamentable,  though  inevitable,  con 
sequences  of  war. 


SECOND    IOWA    OAVALKY.  115 

We  reached  La  Grange  on  our  return  march  on  the 
28th  of  August.  We  moved  down  the  railroad  towards 
Memphis,  very  slowly,  acting  as  guards  for  the  road, 
while  the  government  stores  were  being  removed  from 
different  posts,  preparatory  to  evacuating  them. 

We  reached  White's  Station,  Tennessee,  on  the  5th 
of  September.  There  we  established  a  camp,  and  acted 
as  an  outpost  for  Memphis. 


116  HTSTOliT    OF    THE 


CHAPTER  III. 


KKCC+XXOISSANCB  BY  CAPT.  BANDT— FORREST  MOVES  TO  MIDDLE  TENNESSEE— HATCH 
STARTS  FOR  ARMY  OF  CUMBERLAND — NIGHT  MARCH — CROSS  HATCHIE — MODE  OF 
MARCHING— POOR  COUNTRY — GREENWOOD  VOLUNTEERS — REACH  CLIFTON — LACK 
OF  HORSE  SHOES — HATCH  ORDERED  TO  REPORT  TO  GEN.  SHERMAN  AT  ATLANTA — 

MOVK  TO  PULASKI. 


Forrest  now  saw  Ids  hopeless  inability  to  vie  with 
Smith's  veteran  army,  in  Northern  Mississippi.  He 
therefore  decided  to  leave  this  section  of  the  country  to 
its  fate,  transferring  the  war,  as  far  as  his  army  was 
concerned,  to  Middle  Tennessee.  For  this  purpose  he 
rebuilt  the  Mobile,  and  Ohio  railroad,  as  far  up  as 
Corinth,  where  he  established  a  base  and  collected  sup 
plies  sufficient  for  the  contemplated  raid  upon  the  rail 
road  between  Nashville  and  Decatur. 

.  On  the  17th  of  September,  Capt.  Bandy  left  camp  at 
White's  Station  with  a  detail  of  100  men  from  compa 
nies  "  C,"  "  G-,"  "  L"  and  "  M,"  for  a  reconnoissance  of 
Forrest's  movements.  They  were  out  three  days,  and 
learned  that  Forrest  was  preparing  for  a  raid  upon  the 
Memphis  and  Decatur  railroad,  and  that  he  was  making 
Corinth  his  base  of  operations.  With  this  information, 
and  three  prisoners,  with  a  few  horses,  Bandy  returned 
to  camp  on  the  20th. 

Gen.  Hatch  now  rapidly  fitted  up  his  division  for  a 
change  of  base,  to  comport  with  this  new  move  of  his. 
adversary.  The  necessary  arrangements  being  com 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  117 

pleted,  we  bid  farewell  to  our  camp  at  White's  Station, 
and  as  our  subsequent  history  shows,  to  the  Department 
of  West  Tennessee.  Forrest,  who  was  many  days  ahead 
of  us,  had  crossed  the  Tennessee  at  Florence,  Ala.,  and 
was  already  spreading  consternation  among  the  garri 
sons  in  the  region  of  Middle  Tennessee.  Many  of  the 
lesser  garrisons  along  the  railroad,  between  Pulaski  and 
Huntsville,  had  been  overpowered  and  captured,  while 
Pulaski  itself  had  been  unsuccessfully  assailed.  Gen. 
Rousseau,  with  the  cavalry  of  the  Army  of  the  Cum 
berland,  defeated  him  at  Pulaski,  and  drove  him  back 
across  the  Tennessee  again  at  Florence,  before  General 
Hatch  €ould  reach  that  point  to  cut  him  off. 

We  left  White's  Station  September  30th,  and  moved 
to  Germantown,  where  we  turned  north,  crossing  North 
Wolf  river  near  Germantown.  This  stream  was  much 
swollen  by  recent  rains,  and  hence  difficult  of  crossing. 
We  crossed  by  the  aid  of  bonfires  during  the  night  of 
the  30th,  on  a  bridge  constructed  for  the  occasion.  The 
great  darkness  was  only  equalled  by  the  bad  roads  con 
fronting  us.  But  Hatch,  who  was  never  known  to  halt 
for  mud,  storms  or  rains,  pushed  onward  through  the 
swamps.  It  is  useless  to  attempt  a  description  of  this 
night's  march,  but  those  who  participated  therein  will 
not  soon  forget  the  logs,  ditches,  mudholes,  ravines  and 
tree-tops  they  encountered.  Overturned  wagons,  fallen 
horses,  lost  hats  and  broken  noses,  were  a  part  of  the 
pleasantries  accompanying  this  Gilpin  ride.  We 
bivouaced  a  few  hours  before  day,  at  which  time  the 
column  was  again  in  motion. 

Many  of  the  boys  were  hatless,  rendered  so  during 
the  night's  march.  A  draft,  to  replace  this  very  nec 
essary  article  of  clothing,  was  enforced  by  the  needy 


118  HISTORY  OF   THE 

troopers  upon  all  well  supplied  citizens  who  met  th< 
column.  Gen.  Hatch  pressed  forward  to  Bolivar 
where  he  constructed  another  bridge  over  the  Hatchie 
river.  A  squad  of  guerrillas  opposed  us  at  this  point, 
but  a  few  shots  from  our  carbines  dispersed  them,  witl 
a  loss  of  three  of  their  number  prisoners.  We  camped 
near  Bolivar  on  the  night  of  October  2d,  and  the  nexi 
morning  Gen.  Hatch  ordered  all  extra  wagons  back  to 
White's  Station,  first  supplying  the  men  with  rations 
for  ten  days. 

Celerity  of  motion  was  the  great  point  now  to  be 
gained.  Hatch  moved  as  follows  :  The  advance  moved 
at  3  A.  M.,  made  the  distance  allotted  for  a  day's  march 
as  soon  as  possible,  and  camped  early,  while  the  real 
would  not  be  called  up  until  near  daylight,  and  thei 
required  to  march,  if  need  be,  until  midnight  to  read 
the  camp  of  the  advance.  In  this  way  the  column  was 
kept  in  motion  eighteen  or  twenty  hours  a  day,  and  yel 
no  regiment  was  deprived  of  its  compliment  of  repose, 
or  sufficient  time  for  foraging. 

After  passing  Jackson,  Tennessee,  we  entered  a 
country-  the  most  uninviting,  in  an  agricultural  point  oi 
view,  of  any  over  which  we  had  been  called  to  march 
since  entering  the  service.  For  miles  our  course  would 
lie  along  the  high  and  barren  lands  of  a  divide,  while 
deep  and  almost  inaccessible  ravines  formed  our  bound 
aries  on  either  side.  JSFow  we  descend  an  almost  per 
pendicular  hill  side,  cross  a  small  stream  of  beautiful 
spring  water,  and  then,  by  a  hard  and  slow  process, 
ascend  an  equally  steep  and  rocky  eminence.  The  soil 
was  of  so  worthless  a  nature  as  to  scarcely  produce 
sufficient  vegetation  for  the  sustenance  of  a  mountain 
goat,  and  yet  here  and  there  could  be  seen  a  miserable 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALKY.  119 

hut,  the  surroundings  of  which  plainly  told  that  the 
inhabitants  of  this  region,  more  productive  than  the 
soil,  faithfully  obeyed  the  command  of  the  scripture  to 
multiply  and  replenish.  Very  few  negroes  were  seen 
through  this  region.  No  able  bodied  men  were  to  be 
found.  At  first  we  supposed  this  lack  of  males  was 
attributable  to  the  fact  that  they  were  in  the  Confed 
erate  army,  such  having  been  the  case  in  all  parts  of 
the  South  over  which  we  had  yet  traveled.  But  we 
soon  learned  that  another  cause  prevailed  here.  Few 
Yankee  soldiers  had  ever  visited  this  section,  hence  we 
were  a  source  of  great  curiosity  to  the  women  and  chil 
dren,  who  crowded  the  doors  and  loaded  the  fences  as 
the  column  passed.  "  Where  is  your  husband  ? "  asked 
the  boys  of  the  mother  of  half  *a  score  of  flaxenpolls, 
eyeing  us  with  pleased  wonder.  "  Gone  to  the  army," 
was  the  quick  reply.  "  What  command  does  he  belong 
to  ? "  "  Greenwood's  command,  Capt.  BusKs  company," 
was  the  facetious  response.  At  first  we  did  not  under 
stand  this  dialect,  but  we  soon  learned  that  we  were  in 
a  Union  settlement,  and  that  the  men,  to  avoid  the 
merciless  conscription  by  the  Jeff  Davis  officials,  were 
compelled  to  leave  their  homes,  and  fleeing  to  the  woods, 
there  hide  from  their  hunters,  as  does  the  deer  upon 
our  Western  prairies.  Nor  is  the  rebel's  rifle  the  only 
thing  these  wretched  outcasts  have  to  fear — far  from 
it !  The  hellish  yelp  of  the  bloodhound  is  continually 
wringing  in  their  ears,  and  often  are  their  fangs  buried 
in  the  flesh  of  those  whose  only  crime  is  a  love  for  the 
country  that  gave  them  birth,  a  refusal  to  become 
traitors.  When.  Col,  Coon  told  one  of  these  mothers 
that  we  should  camp  for  the  night  around  her  house, 
and  that  her  husband,  if  within  calling  distance,  could 


120  HISTORY    OF    THE 

spend  the  night  at  home  in  safety,  her  eyes  filled  with 
tears  of  gratitude,  as  she  replied,  "  'Twill  be  the  first 
time  for  more  than  a  year."  An  hour  later,  as  I  passed 
the  door,  I  saw  her  husband  in  the  midst  of  his  family, 
his  little  ones  playing  about  his  knee,  as  if  it  was  a 
treat  seldom  enjoyed.  As  we  moved  out  the  next  morn 
ing,  the  Greenwood  volunteers  could  be  seen  at  every 
house,  but  as  soon  as  our  column  was  past,  they  gave 
their  dear  ones  a  hasty  kiss,  and  slunk  back  to  their 
places  of  concealment,  there  to  remain  until  the  glad 
return  of  peace  should  call  them  to  the  family  board 
again.  Pity  claimed  a  sigh  for  these  unfortunates,  and 
yet  we  could  but  feel  a  contempt  for  a  man,  who  would 
thus  allow  the  oppressor  to  grind  him  down,  while  he 
lacked  the  spunk  to  join  our  army  and  aid  in  procuring 
his  freedom.  What  a  comment  upon  the  institution  of 
slavery,  that  it  thus  crushes  even  the  poor  whites,  with 
whom  it  comes  in  contact,  until  every  spark  of  manhood 
becomes  extinct.  Who,  after  such  a  sight,  will  brand 
the  black  race  as  unfit  for  freedom,,  and  assign  as  a  rea 
son  for  their  course  the  fact  that  they  lack  the  snap 
usually  seen  in  the  free  Anglo-Saxon  of  the  North  ? 
Can  we  expect  the  negro  to  withstand  the  direct  influ 
ence  of  an  institution,  the  indirect  contact  with  which 
has  so  degraded  our  own  race  ? 

We  reached  Clifton  October  6th,  crossing  the  Ten 
nessee  river  at  that  place  on  transports.  As  we  moved 
out  on  the  Nashville  Pike  we  began  to  experience  no 
little  inconvenience  from  the  lack  of  shoes  for  our 
horses.  As  the  soil  in  Northern  Mississippi  is  not 
of  a  nature  to  render  shoes  so  indispensable  to  the 
horse,  we  acquired  the  habit  of  going  unsupplied 
with  the  extra  shoes  and  nails,  which  the  trooper's 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALKY.  121 

saddlebags  are  supposed  to  contain  at  all  times. 
Consequently,  now  that  we  had  reached  a  country 
where  the  barefooted  horse  was  wholly  unserviceable, 
we  had  not  the  stock  necessary  for  replacing  the  shoes 
lost.  Every  horse  that  died  or  gave  out  on  the  march 
was  robbed  of  his  shoes,  while  nails  were  obtained 
wherever  they  could  be  found  through  the  country.  In 
this  way  we  got  along,  poorly  it  is  true. 

As  stated  above,  Forrest  had  already  crossed  the 
river  with  his  principal  army,  although  there  was  a 
small  detachment  still  left  on  the  north  side.  Hatch 
rapidly  moved  to  Lawrenceburg  and  thence  down  the 
Florence  road,  hoping  to  overtake  the  enemy,  but  they 
were  too  fast  for  him,  and  we  again  moved  to  Clifton, 
where  we  remained  several  days  depending  for  supplies 
upon  forage  obtained  from  the  surrounding  country. 

Clifton  was  the  centre  of  a  strong  Union  settlement. 
Many  of  the  citizens  in  the  surrounding  country  were 
in  the  Union  army.  Others  had  organized  themselves 
into  a  sort  of  Union  guerrilla  band,  known  as  the 
Clifton  Boys,  whose  business  it  was  to  aid  the  Federal 
cause  in  any  way  in  their  power.  These  bands  were 
dressed  and  armed  like  Confederate  soldiers.  At  Clif 
ton  we  were  supplied  with  material  for  shoeing  our 
horses,  without  which  little  could  have  been  accom 
plished  for  good. 

Gen.  Hatch  here  received  orders  to  report  to  General 
Sherman  at  Atlanta,  to  join  with  his  division  the  great 
Georgia  Coastward  bound  expedition  of  this  hero.  In 
obedience  to  these  orders  we  left  Clifton  at  3  p.  M.,  Oc 
tober  29th,  and  moved  direct  to  Pulaski,  which  place 
we  reached  November  1st,  1864.  At  Pulaski,  General 
16 


122  HISTORY   OF   THE 

Hatch  received  other  orders  directing  Mm  to  join  his 
forces  with  those  of  Gen.  Thomas,  to  be  used  in  repelling 
an  invasion  of  Tennessee  by  General  Hood. 


SECOND    IOWA   CAVALRY.  123 


CHAPTER   IV. 

GKH.  HOOD'S  INVASION  OF  TENNESSEE—HATCH  MOVES  TO  SHOAL  CREEK — FIGHTS  or 
NOVEMBER  STH  AND  QTH — MAJ.  MOORE  MOVES  AROUND  HOOD'S  ARMY — FIGHT  or 
THE  HTH — FIGHT  OF  THE  16TH — DASH  OF  COMPANY  "  D  " — RECONNOISSANCE  BY 

MAJ.  HORTON— FlQHT  ON  BUTLER'S  CREEK — GEN.    FORREST'S  AND    GKN.    RuKER'S 

ATTEMPT  TO  CAPTURE  us. 

The  Confederate  government,  conscious  of  their  ina 
bility  to  check  the  advance  of  Sherman,  had  already 
commenced  the  execution  of  their  long  talked  of  scheme 
of  invading  Tennessee,  capturing  Nashville,  an&  plant 
ing  their  victorious  armies  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio. 
This  movement  they  claimed  would  compel  Sherman 
to  abandon  his  campaign,  and  thus  prove  the  turning 
point  of  the  war.  But  they  had  counted  without  their 
host.  Sherman  took  no  notice  to  Hood,  but  having 
turned  him  over  to  Gen.  Thomas,  he  leisurely  pursued 
his  plans  for  the  final  blow  at  the  rebellion. 

Gen.  Hood,  Jeff.  Davis'  chosen  leader  for  this  invasion, 
had  been  given  command  of  the  finest  army  the  Con 
federate  government  boasted,  out  of  Richmond,  one 
corps  of  which  he  had  already  crossed  to  the  north  side 
of  the  Tennessee,  at  Florence,  Alabama. 

Brig.-Gen.  Croxton  was  stationed  on  Shoal  Creek, 
ten  miles  northeast  of  Florence,  with  a  poorly  armed 
brigade  of  cavalry  to  watch  Hood's  movements,  but  his 
force  was  entirely  too  small  to  confront  so  large  an 
army.  Hatch  was  therefore  ordered  to  proceed  t© 


124  HISTORY    OF   THE 

Slioal  Creek  with  Ms  division,  now  known  as  the  Fifth 
Division  Cavalry  corps,  M.  D.  M.,  and  having  united 
his  forces  with  those  of  Gen.  Croxton,  to  take  command 
of  all.  Croxton's  command  had  suffered  severely  from 
the  assaults  of  Hood's  troops,  and  Gen.  Hatch  found 
great  diligence  requisite  for  guarding  against  this  wily 
and  powerful  foe.  But  in  selecting  him  for  this  work, 
Gen.  Thomas  had  placed  the  right  man  in  the  right 
place,  as  was  attested  by  the  fact  that  while  he  re 
mained  there,  the  enemy,  who  outnumbered  his  force 
five  to  one,  did  not  succeed,  in  any  instance,  in  gaining 
advantage  over  him.  Gen.  Hatch  reached  Shoal  Creek, 
November  6th,  and  that  night  made  a  reconnoissance 
of  the  rebel  pickets,  the  result  of  which  was  a  sharp 
skirmis^  between  the  two  forces  *  across  the  creek.  No 
advantage,  save  a  knowledge  of  the  rebel  position,  was 
gained.  Our  loss  was  none.  Hatch  attacked  the  ene 
my's  pickets  on  the  8th.  The  Second  Iowa  were  the 
advance  and  the  attacking  party.  Capt.  Foster  moved 
forward  upon  the  rebel  right  until  he  gained  the  creek, 
when  company  "  D,"  Lieut.  Griffith  commanding, 
plunged  into  the  stream,  swollen  by  the  rains.  The 
current,  however,  was  too  strong  to  be  resisted  success 
fully,  and  as  the  horses  reached  the  swiftest  part  of  the 
water,  they  were  rolled  down  the  stream  with  resistless 
fury ;  this  necessitated  the  abandonment  of  the  attempt 
at  crossing.  While  this  was  passing  on  the  left,  com 
pany  "I,"  Lieut.  Watson  commanding,  pressed  to  the 
creek  on  the  right,  and  attempted  to  reach  and  burn  a 
mill  near  the  opposite  side  of  the  stream,  used  by  the 
rebels  to  grind  corn  for  their  army.  But  this  mill  was 
strongly  guarded,  besides  being  protected  by  the  same 
resistless  flood  that  had  turned  company  "  D  "  back  on 


SECOND    IOWA   CAVALRY.  125 

the  left.  Under  cover  of  this  attack,  Maj.  Moore,  with 
the  third  battalion,  moved  off  to  the  right  and  crossed 
the  creek  at  a  ford  some  distance  above.  Thus  over 
the  creek,  Moore  moved  southwest  bv  a  rapid  march, 
passing  entirely  around  Hood's  army,  Trom  one  to  three 
miles  from  his  lines,  and  at  daylight  on  the  morning  of 
the  9th,  he  struck  the  Tennessee  river,  fourteen  miles 
below  Florence.  The  object  of  this  hazardous  dash 
was  to  aid  eight  soldiers  sent  down  the  river  a  few  days 
previous  to  attempt  the  destruction  of  Hood's  pontoons 
at  Florence.  As  soon  as  Moore  struck  the  point  de 
signated,  he  caused  a  large  bonfire  built  as  a  guide  to 
these  fellows,  who  Hatch  hoped  might  have  reached 
that  neighborhood  in  need  of  help.  Moore  waited  here 
for  them  to  report  as  long  as  it  was  prudent,  when 
hearing  nothing  from  them  he  turned  his  face  camp  ward, 
which  he  reached  after  a^ain  swimming;  Shoal  Creek  on 

o  o 

the  night  of  the  10th.  The  boys  with  Moore  were 
hungry,  wet  and  weary,  having  been  out  thirty  hours 
in  a  continual  rainstorm.  Twenty-nine  hours  of  this 
time  were  spent  in  the  saddle,  either  fighting  or  on  the 
rapid  march.  Maj.  Moore  pressed  citizens  to  guide  him 
on  the  9th,  palming  himself  off  upon  them  as  a  Confed 
erate  officer.  The  men,  after  whom  Maj.  Moore  went, 
did  not  succeed  in  their  pontoon  destroying  enterprise, 
and  were  most  of  them  captured. 

As  Gen.  Hatch  was  determined  to  keep  posted  as  to 
the  doings  and  positions  of  the  enemy  he  was  watching, 
he  made  a  third  attack  upon  their  lines  on  the  llth. 
Maj.  Schmitzer,  with  the  second  battalion  of  the  Second 
Iowa,  forced  a  crossing,  fording  the  creek,  and  driving 
in  the  pickets  on  the  other  side.  At  the  same  time  of 
this  move,  Capt.  Harper,  with  the  Ninth  Illinois  cavalry, 


126  HISTORY    OF   THE 

crossed  the  creek  above,  and  coming  around  in  the 
rebel  rear  he  charged  their  pickets,  striking  a  panic  in 
their  camp,  under  cover  of  which  he  recrossed  below 
and  rejoined  the  command. 

On  the  18th  dP  November,  Col.  Coon  again  crossed 
Shoal  Creek  with  the  second  brigade,  and  moved  several 
miles  around  the  enemy's  camp.  When  some  five  miles 
from  the  creek,  we  struck  the  rebel  pickets  just  as  they 
were  being  posted  after  a  foraging  tour ;  company  "  D," 
Lieut.  Griffith  commanding,  was  in  advance.  As  the 
videttes,  four  in  number,  discovered  the  pickets,  they 
immediately  charged  them  with  such  fury  that  the 
rebels  fled  without  firing  a  shot,  or  even  halting  to  see 
the  strength  of  their  pursuers.  These  videttes  pursued 
them  to  the  main  column,  capturing  two  prisoners,  two 
revolvers  and'  sixteen  guns.  Col.  Coon  continued  the 
reconoissance  a  few  miles  farther,  and  then  returned  to 
the  neighborhood  of  Cowpen  Ford,  where  he  camped 
for  a  few  days. 

On  the  18th,  Maj.  Horton  made  a  reconnoissance 
across  the  creek  with  the  Second  Iowa  and  Ninth  Illi 
nois  cavalry.  He  crossed  at  Cowpen  Ford  and  moved 
around  Hood's  lines,  within  from  three-fourths  of  a 
mile  to  a  mile  of  the  rebel  pickets,  penetrating  the 
country  as  far  as  the  Waynesboro1  road.  When  about 
midway  between  Shoal  Creek  and  this  road,  he  had  to 
cross  a  main  thoroughfare  leading  direct  to  the  rebel 
camp,  not  more  than  three  miles  distant.  At  this  road 
he  lelt  the  Ninth  Illinois  to  keep  back  any  force  the 
enemy  should  send  in  that  direction,  until,  with  the 
Second  Iowa,  he  could  complete  the'reconnoissance,  and 
return  to  that  place.  We  had  not  moved  far,  however, 
before  the  report  of  the  Ninth  Illinois  rifles  told  us  that 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY  127 

Harper  could  not  hold  his  post  in  peace.  Soon  an 
orderly  came  from  Harper  informing  Horton  that  the 
enemy  were  concentrating  such  a  force  at  that  point, 
that  he  should  be  forced  to  yield  the  road  to  them. 
Upon  the  reception  of  this  news,  Horton  ordered  Har 
per  to  fall  back  by  the  most  practicable  route  and 
recross  the  creek,  leaving  him  to  get  out  as  best  he 
could  after  completing  his  march  to  the  Waynesboro' 
road.  We  now  pressed  rapidly  forward  until  the  de 
sired  point  was  reached  and  the  requisite  information 
obtained.  This  done,  Maj.  Horton  directed  his  guide 
to  take,  him  to  some  ford  farther  up  the  creek  than  the 
one  at  which  Harper  was  expected  to  cross.  As  we 
had  no  train,  the  guide  took  us  to  an  old  disused  ford, 
where  having  to  cross  a  very  rough  country,  and  a  very 
muddy  field,  we  succeeded  in  crossing  the  creek  in 
safety.  The  knowledge  obtained  by  Horton  of  the  ex 
istence  of  this  ford,  subsequently  proved  of  great  im 
portance  to  our  brigade. 

On  the  morning  of  the  19th  of  November,  General 
Hatch  ordered  Col.  Coon  to  cross  the  creek  with  the 
second  brigade,  and  establish  a  camp  on  Butler  Creek. 
From  information  gained  by  former  reconnoissances, 
Col.  Coon  regarded  this  as  a  very  dangerous  experiment ; 
he  nevertheless  promply  obeyed  the  order,  and  by  10 
o'clock,  A.  M.,  the  brigade,  with  train  and  baggage,  had 
crossed  the  creek  and  moved  towards  the  spot  design 
ated  as  our  camp.  Col.  Coon  crossed  at  Cowpen  Ford, 
which  is  below  where  Bufler  Creek  empties  into  Shoal 
Creek,  and  within  less  than  two  miles  of  Hood's  picket. 
A  few  miles  above  Butler  Creek  is  another  ford  in  Shoal 
Creek.  No  sooner  had  Coon  moved  out  towards  Butler 
Creek,  than  Gen.  Forrest,  who  from  the  frequency  of 


128  HISTORY    OF   THE 

onr  reconnoissances  was  anticipating  this  move,  moved 
upon  our  rear,  cutting  us  off  from  Cowpen  Ford.  For 
rest  had  also  •  sent  Gen.  Buford7  s  division  of  mounted 
infantry,  consisting  of  ten  regiments,  to  the  ford  above 
Butler  Creek. 

As  the  Second  Iowa,  who  were  in  the  advance, 
crossed  Butler  Creek,  they  were  attacked  by  General 
Buford,  at  the  same  time  that  the  Ninth  Illinois  were 
attacked  by  Forrest  in  the  rear.  Our  position  at  this 
crisis  was  anything  but  favorable.  Our  force  did  not 
number  over  1,200  fighting  men.  Shoal  Creek,  fear 
fully  swollen  by  the  copious  rains  of  the  past  few  days, 
separated  us  from  the  balance  of  the  division.  Our  front 
and  rear  was  beset  by  vastly  superior  numbers,  while  a 
little  distance  to  our  left,  lay  the  powerful  army  of 
Gen.  Hood.  We  were  completely  within  the  trap  set 
for  us  by  Forrest,  and  all  the  known  outlets  guarded 
with  a  sufficient  amount  of  troops  to  preclude  the  hope 
of  breaking  through  them.  Fortunately  for  us>  the 
centre  of  our  column  still  commanded  a  by-path  that 
led  to  the  old  ford  where  Maj.  Horton  had  crossed  the 
day  before.  It  seems  that  Forrest  knew  nothing  of 
this  ford,  or  he  would  have  guarded  it  as  he  did  all  the 
other  crossings.  Maj.  Horton,  who  commanded  the 
advance,  saw  at  once  our  only  hope  of  escape  was  in 
crossing  Shoal  Creek  here,  before  Forrest  should  dis 
cover  it.  He  therefore  quickly  threw  the  Second 
Iowa  to  the  front,  to  hold  Buford  in  check.  Then, 
without  waiting  to  communicate  with  Col.  Coon,  he 
ordered  Lieut.  Boget  to  take  charge  of  the  pack  train 
and  rush  with  all  possible  speed  across  this  ford.  He 
then  sent  an  orderly  to  Col.  Coon,  who  was  directing 
movements  in  the  rear,  informing  him  of  the  existence 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY. 


of  this  crossing  and  of  his  doings  in  ordering  the  train 
over.  Col.  Coon  approved  of  this  promptness  on  the 
part  of  his  subordinate  in  assuming  responsibility,  and 
ordered  the  wagons  to  follow  the  pack  train.  These 
orders  were  obeyed  with  such  dispatch,  that  in  less  than 
one  hour  the  encumbrances  of  the  brigade  were  all 
safely  over  the  creek.  But  how  did  the  fighting  part 
of  the  brigade  spend  this  hour  ?  Let  the  incessant  roar 
of  their  faithful  seven  shooters  answer.  Several  compa 
nies  of  the  Second  Iowa  were  on  picket,  so  that  their 
fighting  strength  in  the  engagement  was  not  more  than1 
150  men,  and  yet  this  little  band  were  holding  in  check 
Buford's  entire  division.  The  men  were  dismounted 
and  well  covered  in  a  strong  position.  At  one  time  the1 
enemy  came  upon  our  centre  in  a  strong  dismounted 
charge,  but  as  they  neared  the  cover  behind  which  the 
Second  Iowa  lay,  they  were  received  with  such  a  telling 
sheet  of  lead,  that  great  as  Was  their'  superiority  in 
numbers,  their  officers  could  not  make  their  men  (vet 
erans  though  they  were)  face*  the  storm,  and  they  fell 
back  m  considerable  disorder.  Under  cover  of  this  mo 
mentary  advantage,  Maj.  Horton  fell  back  and  crossed 
the  creek  in  safety,  bringing  off  his  wounded  —  five  in 
number  —  with  him. 

While  this  was  being  done,  the  Sixth  and  Ninth 
Illinois  were  as  gallantly  doing  their  part  in  the  rear' 
and  on  the  flank,  where  Gen.  Forrest  was  vainly  at 
tempting  to  break  through  their  lines  to  the1  train. 
Capt.  Mock,  with  a  battalion  of  the  Ninth  Illinois,  got 
cut  off  from  the  ford,  and  was  compelled  to  break  out 
in  another  direction.  He  managed  to  maneuvre  FO  as 
to  defeat  all  attempts  made  to  capture  him,  until  night 
covered  his  movements  with  a  friendly  shield.  Deeming 
17 


130 


HISTOBY    OF    THE 


it  safer  to  divide  up  into  small  squads,  they  separated 
into  platoons,  each  acting  independently,  but  all  striv 
ing  to  reach  the  command.     As  these  squads  wandered 
about  in  the   darkness,  they  often  found  themselves 
within  the  enemy's  lines.      At   such  times  they  would 
either  play  off  rebel,  or  by  a  dashing  charge  cut  out,  as 
appeared  most  expedient.     As  these  little  bands  struck 
the  rebel  lines  in  various  places,  no  little  alarm  and  con- 
fusion  was  created  in  the  enemy's  camp,  for  each  squad 
was  naturally  taken  as  the  advance  of  an  attacking  col 
umn.  ^  Hood's  army  was  under  arms  ;  staff  officers  and 
orderlies   galloped  in  every  direction,  while    various 
trains,  loaded  with  headquarter  baggage,  were  in  motion 
for  more  secure  localities.     Capt.  Mock  came  upon  one 
of  these  trains,  loaded  with  Gen.  Chalmers'  headquarter 
luggage,  and  by  a  dashing  movement  captured  it  with 
all  the  mules  and  teamsters.     Of  course  they  could  not 
take  the  train  off  and  it  was  abandoned,  not,  however, 
until  Chalmers'  large  garrison  flag,  which  was  in  the 
wagon,  was  secured  and  born  off  in  triumph  ;  but  even 
this  was  more  than  these  gallant  fellows  could  get  away 
with,  for  it  soon  became  entangled  in  the  brush,  and  as 
speed  was  everything  to  them  at  this  point,  they  were 
obliged  to  abandon  it.     By  daylight  all  these  squads 
were  safely  over  the  creek.     Some  of  them  were   in 
almost   a   state  of  nudity,  having  been  captured  and 
stripped  by  the  representatives  of  Southern  chivalry. 

During  that  night,  as  we  afterwards  learned,  General 
Kuker  prepared  a  night  attack  upon  our  brigade,  being, 
as  he  afterwards  told  Gen.  Hatch  while  a  prisoner  in 
our  lines,  confident  of  his  ability  to  capture  the  most  of 
the  brigade.  His  men  were  all  instructed  to  wear  a 
white  cloth  upon  their  arms,  so  that  they  would  know 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALKY.  131 

each  other  in  the  dark.  Just  as  Gen.  Ruker  was  start 
ing,  he  received  orders  from  Gen.  Forrest  to  defer  the 
attack,  as  he,  Forrest,  had  another  scheme  which  he 
hoped  would  result  in  the  capture  of  the  division.  Thus 
we  were  spared  what  would  doubtless  have  proved  an 
exciting,  bloody  fight,  for  our  officers  were  on  the  alert 
and  Ruker  would  have  found  that  his  task  was  not  an 
easy  one.  Forrest's  scheme  for  the  capture  of  the  di 
vision  was  defeated  by  Hatch,  who,  knowing  the  vastly 
superior  force  of  the  enemy,  slipped  out  of  the  trap 
just  before  it  was  sprung. 


iJISTOIlY    OF    THE 


CHAPTER  V. 

HOOD'S  ADVANCE  ON  NASHYILLB — GEN,  FORREST— SHOAL  CREEK — FIGHT  AT  LAW. 
RENCEBURG — FlGHT  AT  CAMPBELLYILLE — MAJ.  MOORE  CUT  OFF — DESPERATE 
FIGHTING  OF  THE  NINTH  ILLINOIS — COLUMBIA  REACHED — MAIL — HORSES — MOUNT 
CARMBL — BATTLE  OF  FRANKLIN — REACH  NASHYILLE  AND  EDGEFIELD. 

Gren.  Hood  advanced  towards  Nashville  with  his  entire 
army  on  the  20th  of  November,  1864.  He  now  com 
manded  one  of  the  most  magnificent  armies  ever  put 
into  the  field  by  the  Confederate  government.  He  had 
45,000  infantry  and  ninety  pieces  of  artillery,  command 
ed  by  the  best  generals  the  Confederacy  afforded,  be- 
.sides  15,000  well  mounted  cavalry,  commanded  by  Maj. 
Gen.  Forrest,  or  the  old  war  horse,  as  the  rebels  called 
him.  Although  Forrest  was  by  profession  a  slave  dealer, 
#nd  entirely  destitute  of  even  the  rudiments  of  a  com 
mon  school  education  ;  a  barbarian,  wanting  in  every 
qualification  which  constitutes  a  gentleman;  yet  ii 
must  be  admitted  that  as  a  leader  of  cavalry,  he  had  few 
equals  ;  he  had  none  in  the  Confederate  army. 

Brig.-Gen.  Hatch  who  had  confronted  this  powerful 
army  for  fifteen  days  with  but  4,600  cavalry,  now  fell 
slowly  back  before  them,  being  over  forty  miles  from 
infantry  support.  It  speaks  well  for  Gen.  Hatch  to 
.state  that  during  this  fifteen  days,  he  kept  himself  well 
advised  of  the  movements  of  the  enemy,  with  a  loss  of 
but  one  man  killed,  and  that  from  his  own  body  guard. 
In  order  correctly  to  judge  of  the  difficulties  surrounding 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALKY.  133 

us  on  the  Shoal  Creek  campaign,  the  reader  must  know 
that  during  our  stay  here  the  rain  fell  in  torrents  nearly 
every  day,  which  made  our  camping  grounds  perfect 
quagmires,  while  the  roads  over  which  we  were  com 
pelled  to  march  .and  countermarch  daily,  were  so  muddy 
as  to  render  locomotion  over  them  next  to  impossible. 
Add  to  this  the  fact  that  we  had  no  shelter  from  the 
continued  rain,  save  such  as  we  could  make  from  our 
gjim  blankets ;  and  no  rations  for  ourselves  or  forage  for 
our  animals,  except  as  we  collected  it  in  the  face  of  a 
vigilant  and  vastly  outnumbering  enemy,  from  the  sur 
rounding  country,  which,  was  at  best  so  poor  as  to  afford 
but  a  stinted  subsistence  to  the  owners,  who  of  course 
hid  all  they  could  from  us ;  and  that  owing  to  a  peculiar 
poisonous  ingredient  in  the  mud  in  this  region,  our 
horses,  which  to  the  cavalryman  are  of  first  importance  ? 
took  that  worst  of  all  diseases,  the  greese  keel,  to  such  a 
fearful  extent  that  scarcely  a  sound  animal  could  be 
found,  while  two-thirds  of  them  were  entirely  unfit  for 
use  ;  and  the  reader  will  have  some  idea  of  the  difficul 
ties  surmounted  by  Gen.  Hatch  and  his  command,  dur 
ing  his  fifteen  days'  stay  on  Shoal  Creek— -a  time  not  soon 
to  be  forgotten  by  those  participating  in  it. 

Taking  a  glad  farewell  of  these  scenes,  Hatch  retreat 
ed  to  Lawrenceburg,  where  it  became  necessary  to  make 
.another  stand  to  allow  the  infantry  at  Pulaski  longer 
time  in  which  to  evacuate  that  place.  He  bivouaced  his 
command  a  little  north  of  Lawrenceburg,  placing  a 
strong  picket  on  the  pike  south  of  town.  The  enemy 
attacked  this  picket  with  cavalry  on  the  morning  of  the 
22d.  Capt.  McManis  with  a  battalion  of  the  Ninth 
Illinois  cavalry,  and  Lieut,  Bandy  with  companies  "  B," 
"  D,"  "  F,"  "  I ''  and  "  M,"  held  this  picket  post  so 


134  HISTORY    OF   THE 

stubbornly,  that  the  enemy  were  compelled  to  bring  up 
their  infantry  before  they  could  advance,  which  they 
succeeded  in  doing  about  4  o'clock,  p.  M.,  when  Col. 
Coon  went  to  the  support  of  his  pickets  with  the  second 
brigade.  The  fight  now  raged  with  a  good  deal  of  fury 
until  dark,  the  enemy  advancing  steadily.  Artillery 
was  freely  used  on  both  sides ;  the  Sixth  Illinois  cavalry 
gallantly  holding  the  rear  against  repeated  charges  and 
flank  attacks  from  the  enemy.  Hatch  retreated  that 
night  about  ten  miles  and  camped,  moving  back  the 
next  morning  to  within  ten  miles  of  Pulaski,  where  he 
halted  again  The  enemy  pressed  the  rear  somewhat, 
but  devoted  most  of  his  attention  to  a  scheme  for  cutting 
us  oif  from  our  support. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  24th  we  moved  to 
Campbellville,  where  we  were  vigorously  assailed  by 
Forrest.  This  wily  leader  had  here  arranged  a  trap 
in  which  he  expected  to  capture  Gen.  Hatch  and  his 
command.  Soon  after  the  action  began  the  rebel  centre 
gave  way,  with  the  hope  of  drawing  Hatch  forward, 
while  a  heavy  flanking  force  should  swing  upon  his  rear 
and  cut  him  off  from  the  Franklin  Pike.  This  move 
was  detected,  however,  by  Maj.  Schrnitzer,  who  was  on 
the  left  with  the  first  battalion  of  the  Second  Iowa. 
Schmitzer  conveyed  the  knowledge  of  this  movement  of 
the  enemy  to  Gen.  Hatch  just  in  time  to  enable  him  to 
change  front,  and  by  rapidly  throwing  the  second  bri. 
gade  upon  the  left,  checkmate  the  attempt  of  the  enemy 
to  gain  his  rear.  The  fighting  on  the  left  with  the 
second  brigade,  Col.  Coon  commanding,  now  became 
fierce  and  bloody.  The  Ninth  Illinois,  Capt.  Harper 
commanding,  at  first  held  the  rear,  and  gallantly  did 
these  brave  fellows  hold  in  check  the  swarming  hosts 


SECOKD    IOWA    CAY  ALKY. 

which  Forrest  hurled  against  them.  The  fighting  was 
bloody  in  the  extreme,  but  this  little  band  of  a  few 
hundred  heroes  on  scores  of  well  fought  fields,  fell  back 
in  good  style,  retreating  or  fighting,  as  ordered.  They 
were  overpowered  and  terribly  punished,  some  compa 
nies  leaving  half  of  their  number  upon  the  bloody  field. 
But  as  the  Second  Iowa,  Maj.  Horton  commanding,  re 
lieved  them,  we  plainly  saw  by  their  defiant  mien  that 
they  were  far  from  being  whipped. 

Horton  dismounted  the  Second  Iowa  and  threw  them 
forward  to  check  the  exultant  enemy.  The  boys  had 
scarce  time  to  take  cover  behind  a  neighboring  fence, 
before  the  rebel  column  came  down  upon  them  in  a 
charge  calculated  to  ride  down  all  that  opposed  it.  The 
monient  was  a  critical  one ;  if  they  overpowered  the 
little  hand  of  not  over  350  opposed  to  them,  they  could 
gain  Hatch's  rear,  and  sad  indeed  would  have  been  the 
consequence.  But  the  boys  who  held  that  line  of  fence, 
knew  well  the  responsibility  resting  upon  them,  nor  was 
the  confidence  reposed  in  them  misplaced.  As  the  rebel 
column  advanced,  it  was  met,  by  not  well  directed  vol- 
lies,  but  a  ceaseless  sheet  of  murderous  lead.  The  enemy 
are  confounded,  they  waver  and  at  last  break  in  confu 
sion  Scarcely,  however,  have  the  cheers  of  the  victors 
told  of  their  success,  when  other  and  even  more  power- 
full  forces  of  the  enemy's  cavalry  are  discovered  closing 
in  still  farther  to  the  left,  while  another  column  appears 
upon  the  right.  The  order  to  retire  is  given,  but  as 
Maj.  Moore,  who  commands  the  right  of  the  line,  at 
tempts  to  obey  the  order,  he  finds  that  the  enemy 
already  command  the  road  in  his  rear,  completely  cut 
ting  him  off  from  his  led  horses.  Seeing  the  impossi 
bility  of  escape  by  this  road,  he  fell  back  by  the  right 


136  UlSTOBY   OF   THE 

and  rear.  Fortunately  for  him,  a  neighboring  hill 
screened  him  so  that  the  enemy  did  not  discover  the 
advantage  they  had  gained,  and  but  a  portion  of  their 
force  followed  him.  With  these  he  kept  up  a  running 
fight  until  he  succeeded,  after  a  inarch  of  some  four 
miles,  in  forming  a  junction  with  the  first  brigade  and 
was  safe.  After  Maj.  Moore  was  cut  off,  the  brunt  of 
the  battle  fell  upon  Captain  Bandy,  commanding  com 
panies  "I"  and  "D."  For  a  few  moments  it  seemed 
that  these  companies  must  be  inevitably  lost,  but  after 
thirty  minutes  fighting,  in  which  all,  both  officers  and 
inenr  showed  the  best  of  mettle,  they  succeeded  in  mak 
ing  good  their  retreat.  The  Sixth  Illinois  now  took 
the  rear.  The  fight  raged  until  dark,  when  we  reached 
the  Pike  at  Linnville.  Hatch  fell  back  that  night  to 
Columbia,  which  place  was  reached  about  midnight. 

We  were  now  within  the  infantry  lines-  for  the  first 
time  for  near  a  month.  We  here  received  a  mail,  the 
first  for  sixty-five  days,  or  since  we  left  White's  Station. 
Gen.  Hatch  crossed  Duck  river  at  Columbia  on  the  254h 
of  November,  and  camped  for  the  night  two  miles  from 
town. 

An  inspection  of  the  horses  was  now  ordered,  the  re 
sult  of  which  showed  that  out  of  over  400  horses,  in  the 
Second  Iowa,  less  than  sixty  were  serviceable,  the  bal 
ance  being  rendered  unfit  for  service  by  the  greese  Tieel. 
Gen.  Hatch  was  now  relieved  with  his  division  from 
duty  at  the  front,  and  allowed  to  proceed  to  Nashville 
for  a  remount  if  he  desired.  But  this  did  not  suit  his 
fiery  spirit,  as  it  would  probably  take  him  out  of  the 
balance  of  the  fight,  hence  he  obtained  permission  to 
move  his  division  out  into  the  country,  northeast  of 
Columbia,  and  press  horses  from  the  citizens. 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  137 

Accordingly  we  moved  out  in  the  direction  indicated, 
about  eight  miles,  when  we  went  into- camp,  while  small 
squads  scoured  the  country  in  all  directions  for  horses. 
We  remained  here  two  days,  during  which  time  the  boys 
had  picked  up  horses  in  sufficient  numbers  to  give  us 
the  best  remount  we  had  had  since  we  veteranized. 

On  the  evening  of  the  28th,  Gen.  Hatch  moved  out 
on  the  Shelbyville  pike,  where  we  laid  in  line  of  battle 
all  night.  Before  daylight  on  the  morning  of  the  29th, 
he  moved  back  to  Mount  Carmel  and  halted  for  break 
fast.  Gen.  Croxton  who  was  now  in  the  rear,  soon 
came  up  closely  pressed  by  the  enemy.  Croxton  was 
relieved  at  Mount  Carmel  by  our  brigade,  Col.  Coon 
commanding.  Coon  held  the  fortifications  here  for  an 
hour  when  he  was  ordered  to  retire,  which  he  did  in 
column  of  squadrom.  The  enemy  followed  until  con 
vinced  they  could  make  nothing  following  a  force  armed 
as  we  were,  which  could  be  so  readily  thrown  into  line 
of  battle,  when  they  withdrew,  leaving  us  to  complete 
our  march  to  Franklin  undisturbed.  It  was  a  common 
remark  by  both  officers  and  men,  that  our  brigade  was 
never  better  maneuvred  on  a  retreat  than  during  this 
day's  march. 

We  reached  Franklin  on  the  29th  of  November.  Gen. 
Schofield,  who  commanded  there,  had  not  yet  completed 
his  arrangements  for  the  evacuation  of  the  place.  A 
vast  government  train  loaded  with  army  stores  was 
there. 

As  but  a  very  small  part  of  Gen.  Thomas'  army  was 
at  Franklin,  Gen.  Hood  thought  this  his  time  to  break 
the  Federal  power  by  a  crushing  blow,  and  the  capture 
of  this  train.  Hood  assembled  his  army  and  excited 
their  cupidity  by  a  description  of  the  wealthy  stores 
18 


138  HISTOKY    OF    THE 

just  before  them.  These  deluded  beings,  who  were  al 
most  entirely  naked  and  poorly  supplied  with  subsist 
ence,  were  told ,  that  the  coveted  train  contained  the 
comfortable  clothes  and  palatable  rations  always  to  be 
found  in  abundance  at  a  well  supplied  post  occupied  by 
Federal  troops.  Hood  told  his  barefooted  followers, 
that  this  tempting  prize  was  separated  from  them  but 
by  a  demoralized  fourth  corps,  and  that  if  they  would 
strike  one  bold  blow  it  should  be  theirs.  For  many 
days  our  army  had  driven  splendidly,  and  they  supposed 
we  were  indeed  whipped  and  demoralized.  Schofield 
had  constructed  some  very  formidable  breastworks 
south  of  Franklin,  behind  which  he  placed  his  infantry 

the  veteran  fourth  corps — under  that  skillful  leader 

Maj.-Gen.  Stanly,  while   Brev't-Maj.-Gen.  Wilson,  com 
manding  the  cavalry  corps,  was  ordered  to  protect  the 
flanks.     Gen.  Hatch,  with  the  fifth  division,  was  placed 
upon  the  left  flank.     The  enemy  attacked  the  entire 
line  at  the  same  instant,  but  massing  the  heaviest  force 
upon  the  centre.     Company  "  K,"  Second  Iowa,  Capt. 
Bandy  commanding,  were  on  picket  in  front  of  the  left 
when  the  attack  was  made.     They  fell  back  fighting, 
and  were  relieved  by  the  Sixth  Illinois  cavalry,  Maj 
Wlritzet  commanding,  just  as  they  had  expended  al 
their  ammunition — one   hundred   rounds   each.      Tlit 
Sixth  Illinois  were  forced  back  until  they  were  protectec 
by  the  guns  of  the  brigade.     The  enemy  now  made  i 
charge  upon  our  brigade,   which  was  handsomely  re 
pulsed  by  the  Sixth,  Seventh  and  Ninth  Illinois,  wh< 
in  turn  charged  the  enemy,  completely  routing  them  a 
all  points.     The  rebel  centre  came  down  upon  Genera 
Stanly  in   a  style  probably  never  excelled  for  detei 
mined  bravery,  by  any  charge  of  the  war.     As  the; 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  139 

neared  the  works,  tlie  boys  opened  upon  the  assailants 
a  fire  so  destructive  that  no  living  force  could  withstand 
it.  The  rebels  succeeded  in  gaining  possession  of  the 
works  in  one  place  for  a  few  seconds,  but  they  were 
quickly  repulsed  and  the  battle  was  over.  The  contest 
had  been  very  brief,  not  having  lasted  over  an  hour, 
and  yet  the  enemy  had  lost  over  6,000  men  killed  and 
wounded.  The  rebels  lost  five  Generals  killed,  viz : 
Maj.-Gen.  Cleburne,  Brig.-Gens.  Gordon,  Adams,  Strahl 
and  Granbery  ;  also  two  Major-Generals  wounded.  The 
Federal  loss  was  but  600  killed  and  wounded. 

We  fell  back  to  Nashville  without  farther  fighting, 
which  place  we  reached  on  the  2d  of  December.  The 
cavalry  crossed  the  Cumberland  river  and  camped  at 
Edgefield.  We  there  found  our  tents  and  knapsacks, 
the  first  time  we  had  seen  them  since  we  left  White's 
Station  in  September. 


140  HISTORY    OF    THE 


CHAPTER   VI. 

SUFFERINGS  AT  EDGEFIELD — THOMAS  AND  HOOD  FORTIFYING — BATTLE  OF  NASHVILLE 
— CAPTURE  OF  FORTS,  GUNS,  PRISONERS,  ETC. — CHARGE  BY  TWELFTH  TENNESSEE — 
BATTLE  OF  DECEMBER  I&TH — CAPTURE  OF  GEN.  RUKER — CAPTURE  OF  REBEL  FLAG 
BY  SERG'T  COULTER — DESPERATE  HANIJ  TO  HAND  ENCOUNTER— LIEUT.  GRIFFITH 
AND  SECOND  IOWA  STANDARD— LIEUT.  CRAWFORD  IN  REBEL  RANKS— GEN.  HATCH 
CAPTURES  THREE  CANNON — CHARGE  OF  FIFTH  IOWA  AT  PULASKI — MARCH  TO 
EUNTSYILLR,  EASTPORT  AND  GRAYILLY  SPRINGS — CAPTURES  OF  SECOND  BRIGADE. 

Wliile  at  Edgefield  the  weatlier  became  intensely 
cold,  the  thermometer  settling  to  10  deg.  below  zero. 
No  wood  was  furnished  for  the  command,  and  all  the 
protection  we  had  from  the  wintry  blasts,  was  a  simple 
canvass  covering  for  the  frozen  ground,  and  a  soldier's 
blanket. 

The  suffering  caused  by  the  want  of  wood  and  a 
comfortable  camp,  far  exceeded  anything  we  had  ever 
been  called  upon  to  endure  upon  the  march  or  the  battle 
Held.  Our  camping  ground  was  an  open  field,  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  large  gum  trees.  Guards  w^ere  placed 
over  every  rail  or  stick  of  wood  in  the  vicinity.  At 
first  the  boys  cut  the  gum  trees  in  camp,  and  with  them 
made  fires  on  the  company  grounds,  around  which  they 
clustered  to  keep  from  freezing.  This  we  thought  se 
vere  enough  to  satisfy  any  disciplinarian,  but  facts 
showed  differently,  and  on  the  morning  of  December 
9th,  a  bitter  cold  day.  we  were  greeted  by  an  order  to 
cut  no  more  trees.  Had  this  order  been  obeyed,  every 
soldier  in  the  command  must  inevitably  have  frozen  to 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALKY  141 

death,  except  sucli  generals  as  toasted  their  toes  by 
warm  parlor  fires.  As  it  was  the  boys  managed  to  steal 
enough  from  the  guards  to  keep  from  freezing.  Some 
of  the  men  constructed  underground  furnaces  in  their 
tents,  and  so  economised  the  heat  that  three  rails  per 
day  would  suffice.  They  were  purloined  after  night 
and  packed  a  half  mile  on  our  backs.  Who  was  in  fault 
for  this  outrage,  is  more  than  I  know.  It  is  the  pro 
vince  of  the  historian  to  write  facts  without  searching 
for  causes. 

While  we  were  refitting  at  Edgefield,  the  armies  of 
Thomas  and  Hood  were  both  actively  employed  in  for 
tifying  their  respective  positions.  Gen.  Thomas  com 
pelled  all  the  citizens  of  Nashville  to  work  upon  the 
breastworks  surrounding  the  city.  Gen.  Thomas  occu 
pied  a  semi-circular  line  of  hills,  extending  completely 
around  the  city  from  river  to  river.  Gen.  Hood  con 
structed  his  fortifications  on  a  similar  chain  of  hills, 
from  one  to  four  miles  outside  of  Thomas7  line. 

The  cavalry  recrossed  the  Cumberland  river  to  the 
Nashville  side  December  12th,  and  for  three  days  we 
camped  in  an  open  field  east  of  the  city.  The  mud  in 
this  field  was  knee-deep,  which  rendered  our  stay  very 
unpleasant,  and  caused  the  boys  to  become  impatient 
to  exchange  the  disagreeable  scenes  of  a  poor  camp  for 
the  more  exciting,  though  more  bloody,  experience  of 
the  battle  field. 

Gen.  Thomas  determined  to  attack  Gen.  Hood  on  the 
15th  of  December,  and  issued  the  necessary  orders  pre 
paratory  to  such  a  step  after  dark  on  the  14th.  The 
morning  of  the  15th  dawned  upon  us  through  a  dense 
and  almost  impenetrable  fog,  which  settled  over  both 
armies  and  seemed  loth  to  unveil  the  sun  to  scenes  so 


142  HISTORY    OF    THE 

terrible  and  so  fraught  with  interests  to  the  cause  of 
liberty.  About  9  o'clock  A.  M.,  as  if  by  the  behest 
of  the  Almighty  the  fearful  hour  had  come,  the  fog 
slowly  cleared  away  and  the  magnificent  and  confident 
army  of  Gen.  Thomas  advanced  from  behind  their 
breastworks  and  nerved  themselves  for  the  encounter 
for  which  they  had  been  selected,  and  by  which  they 
were  destined  to  carve  their  names  in  characters  of  blood 
far  up  the  pinnacle  of  fame  among  war's  heroes.  As 
they  marched  out,  all  to  victory,  though  many  to  their 
graves,  the  expression  on  each  countenance  told  the 
looker-on  that  they  were  earnest  men,  confident  of  their 
ability  to  crush  the  traitor  army  confronting  them,  and 
resolved  to  deal  telling  blows  for  liberty  and  union. 

Brig.-Gen.  Hatch  commanded  the  fifth  division  cav- 
.alry  corps,  and  occupied  the  right  of  Gen.  A.  J.  Smith's 
corps.  Col.  D.  E.  Coon  commanded  the  second  brigade, 
fifth  division,  which  was  composed  of  the  Second  Iowa, 
Sixth,  Seventh  and  Ninth  Illinois  and  the  Second  Ten 
nessee  cavalry,  with  battery  "  I  "  of  the  First  Illinois 
light  artillery.  Maj.  Horton  commanded  the  Second 
Iowa,  while  Maj.  Schmitzer,  and  Capt's.  Foster  and 
Bandy  each  commanded  a,  battalion  of  this  regiment. 
Most  of  the  cavalry  moved  out  dismounted,  as  mounted 
men  could  effect  but  little  when  operating  against 
breastworks. 

Soon  after  the  ball  opened,  Gen.  Hatch  made  a  left 
half  wheel,  when  we  found  ourselves  confronting  a 
strong  rebel  redoubt,  from  which  five  cannon  saluted 
us  with  shot  and  shell.  By  order  of  Col.  Coon  the 
second  brigade  battery  was  quickly  thrown  into  posi 
tion,  and  the  Second  Iowa  cavalry  detailed  to  support 
it — covered  as  well  as  we  could  be  by  a  little  rise  in  the 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  143 

ground.  Tlie  artillery  duel  which  followed  was  unusually 
brisk,  the  guns  of  both  sides  being  manned  with  great 
ability.  Soon  after  the  commencement  of  the  action  a 
shell  from  our 'battery  exploded  a  rebel  caisson,  doing 
much  damage  to  the  inmates  of  the  rebel  fort,  while 
their  shell  killed  two  of  the  Second  Iowa,  and  wounded 
Lieut.  Boget  of  company  "  H." 

When  our  artillery  ammunition  became  exhausted, 
Gen.  Hatch  ordered  us  to  "  go  for  the  fort."  The  cover 
was  so  poor  that  supporting  the  artillery  was  very  try 
ing  business,  and  the  boys  gladly  heard  the  order  to 
decide  the  issue  with  a  charge  ;  all  sprang  forward,  and 
in  three  minutes  the  fort  with  its  guns  and  200  prison 
ers  was  in  Federal  hands.  As  we  sprang  over  the  rebel 
works,  our  shouts  of  triumph  were  answered  by  a  shower 
of  lead  and  iron  from  our  right ;  glancing  in  that  direc 
tion  we  beheld  another  strongly  fortified  redoubt,  situ 
ated  500'  yards  to  our  right  and  far  above  us,  upon  a 
pinnacle,  such  as  are  found  only  in  mountainous  locali 
ties,  from  which  belching  cannon  and  blazing  musketry 
hurled  death  and  defiance  upon  us. 

To  remain  in  our  captured  fort  was  certain  death,  to 
retreat  promised  little  better,  while  to  attempt  the  cap 
ture  of  this  second  fort  seemed  madness.  But  Hatch 
was  with  us,  and  failure  is  nowhere  found  in  his  vocab 
ulary.  He  ordered  us  to  follow  him  and  carry  this  fort 
as  we  had  the  other,  by  storm.  In  the  excitement  oc 
casioned  by  the  capture  of  the  first  fort,  we  had  for  the 
instant  disregarded  company  or  regimental  organiza 
tions,  and  the  entire  brigade  was  mixed  together  like  a 
crowd  of  school-boys.  It  was  deemed  inexpedient  to 
delay  to  re-form  and  advance  in  line,  hence  the  regi 
mental  commanders  called  upon  their  men  co  follow 


HISTORY    OF   THE 

them,  while  Hatch  and  Coon  led  towards  the  second 
redoubt.  Some  difficulty  was  experienced  by  the  officers 
in  checking  their  men  from  pursuing  the  retreating 
rebels  from  the  first  redoubt,  but  it  was  finally  accom 
plished,  and  all  moved  together  upon  the  fort  for  whicl 
they  were  now  striving. 

The  boys,  unused  to  marching  on  foot,  had  no^ 
charged  for  near  a  mile  and  were  so  completely  exhaust 
ed  as  to  be  wholly  unable  to  move  faster  than  a  S!OT$ 
walk,  still  made  sure,  though  slow,  advance  up  the  hill, 
seemingly  regardless  of  the  vollies  they  were  called 
upon  to  meet.  Now  some  one  too  much  fatigued  to  gc 
farther,  would  sink  down  behind  a  tree,  and  there  dis 
charge  his  seven  loads  and  reload  his  carbine,  and  then 
slowly  drag  himself  up  the  fearful  hights.  Gen.  Hatch 
directed  one  fellow,  too  much  exhausted  to  go  farther, 
to  take  his  horse  by  the  tail,  and  thus  aided  him  up  the 
hill.  In  this  way  the  boys  kept  such  a  stream  of  lead 
whistling  over  the  fort,  as  in  a  great  measure  to  keep 
the  rebels  from  rising "  above  the  works  to  fire,  and 
when  they  did  shoot  they  had  no  line  to  aim  at,  hence 
their  balls  usually  whistled  hamlessly  past  us  ;  this  ac 
counts  for  the  small  loss  we  sustained  in  the  charge. 

Gen.  Hood  had  left  this  fort  but  five  minutes  before 
our  charge  was  made,  and  ordered  it  held  at  all  hazards. 
The  defenders  fought  until  our  boys  had  scaled  the 
works  and  engaged  in  a  hand  to  hand  encounter,  and 
until  the  Major  commanding  fell  severely  wounded, 
when  they  yielded  to  the  superior  numbers  of  the 
assailants. 

Among  the  first  to  enter  the  fort  was  the  color  bearei 
of  the  Second  Iowa,  Serg't  John  F.  Hartman,  of  com- 
pany  "  F."  He  had  been  the  first  to  plant  the  flag  oi 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  145 

the  free  in  the  first  fort,  and  now  with  just  pride  and 
the  steady  nerve  of  a  true  soldier,  he  planted  his  colors 
within  this  stronghold.  But  alas,  his  work  was  done  ; 
he  fell  mortally  wounded  just  as  the  action  closed.  His 
loss  was  deeply  felt  by  the  entire  regiment,  who  had  so 
often  followed  where  his  standard  led  to  victory.  With 
these  forts  the  second  brigade  captured  over  500  prison 
ers  and  eight  pieces  of  cannon,  two  wagons  loaded  with 
entrenching  tools,  also  a  large  amount  of  fixed  ammuni 
tion.  'Tis  proper  to  add  that  McMillinJs  brigade  of 
McCarther's  division  of  infantry,  participated  in  these 
charges,  but  the  cavalry  entered  both  forts  ahead  of 
tbem,  consequently  the  General  awarded  the  capture  to 
Col.  Coon's  brigade.  To  Capt.  Budd  and  his  cainpany, 
"  G,"  Second  Iowa,  was  awarded  the  praise  of  being 
first  into  the  first  fort,  although  Gen.  Hatch  and  Maj. 
Horton,  with  the  balance  of  the  Second  Iowa,  were  but 
a  jump  behind  them.  The  second  fort  was  the  prize  of 
the  brigade ;  no  company  or  regiment  justly  claiming 
ascendency  there.  This  fort  .ours,  we  discovered  still 
another  upon  a  hill  to  our  left,  from  which  the  enemy 
still  poured  their  deadly  rain.  The  second  brigade  was 
too  much  exhausted  to  go  farther,  but  the  first  brigade, 
Col.  Stewart  commanding,  was  now  on  hand,  anxious 
for  their  part  of  the  game.  To  this  brigade  General 
Hatch  galloped,  having  first  turned  the  captured  guns 
upon  the  enemy.  At  the  sight  of  their  General,  the 
boys  of  this  brigade  raised  a  yell  and  enthusiastically 
followed  him  up  the  hill  and  into  the  rebel  fort,  which 
surrendered  as  the  others  had  done.  In  all  these 
charges  Gen.  Hatch  and  Col.  Coon  had  been  in  the 
foremost  rank,  and  being  mounted,  while  their  men 
were  dismounted,  it  is  the  greatest  wonder  that  they 
19 


\ 
146  HISTORY    OF    THE 


came  out  untouched.  While  this  was  going  on,  the 
Twelfth  Tennessee  cavalry,  Col.  Spaulding  command 
ing,  made  a  gallant  mounted  charge  upon  the  right, 
capturing  a  large  wagon  train  loaded  with  ammunition 
and  some  prisoners. 

After  the  first  fort  surrendered,  the  woods  around 
was  full  of  rebels  fleeing  from  the  captured  works.  So 
numerous  and 'so  demoralized  were  these  fugitives,  that 
good  judges  estimated  that  had  there  been  a  battalion 
of  mounted  men  there  to  have  followed  up  the  charge, 
a  brigade  more  prisoners  could  have  been  secured.  As 
it  was,  Lieut  Kinnin  of  company  "  A,n'  acting  R.  C.  S., 
and  Serg't  Beesom,  R.  Q.  M.  Serg't,  and  Thomas  An 
derson  of  company"  D,"  Regimental  Bugler,  and  Winn, 
company  "  I,"  and  Ben.  Lilly,  company  "  G,"  orderlies 
for  Maj.  Horton,  being  all  mounted,  dashed  among  the 
retreating  rebels  with  drawn  sabres,  and  drove  over 
fifty  back  to  our  lines  as  prisoners.  Lieut.  Watson,  of 
company  "  I,"  private  Hardin,  of  company  "  F,"  and 
others  who  were  dismounted,  headed  off  large  squads 
.  and  drove  them  back  to  our  column. 

Night  now  put  an  end  to  the  fight.  Our  division  had 
been  engaged  but  a  few  hours,  and  yet  it  had  completely 
turned  the  rebel  left,  doubling  them,  panic  stricken, 
back  upon  the  centre,  with  a  loss  of  three  of  tlteir  best 
forts,  twelve  pieces  of  artillery,  a  large  ammunition 
train  and  many  prisoners.  Gen.  Hatch  had  also  de 
monstrated  the  fact  that  cavalry  when  dismounted  and 
properly  handled,  can  successfully  compete  with  the  best 
of  infantry  in  capturing  breastworks  and  forts.  This 
is,  we  think,  the  first  instance  in  the  history  of  the  war 
where  cavalry  had  been  thus  used  in  storming  forts. 
Gen.  Hatch  had  accomplished,  with  but  a  small  loss,  a 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  14? 

feat  that  Maj.-Gen.  Thomas  pronounced  impossible  but 
an  hour  before.  The  Second  Iowa  lost  twenty-five 
killed  and  wounded  in  this  day's  fight. 

Signal  advantages  had  been  gained  this  day  all  along 
our  lines.  The  enemy  had  lost  sixteen  pieces  of  cannon 
and  between  2,000  and  3,000  prisoners,  and  as  we  rested 
at  night  all  felt  that  our  complete  success  was  certain. 

Gen.  Hood  now  began  to  realize  the  nature  of  the 
work  he  had  undertaken,  and  during  the  night  of  the 
15th  he  greatly  contracted  and  strengthened  his  lines. 
Gen.  Thomas  renewed  the  attack  at  daylight  on  the 
16th,  and  during  the  entire  day  the  heavy  booming  of 
more  than  a  hundred  pieces  of  artillery,  mingled  with 
the  crackling  of  thousands  of  small  arms.  Gen.  Hatch 
continued  to  press  back  the  rebel  left  as  he  had  done 
the  day  before.  The'  enemy  had,  during  the  night, 
erected  strong  works  upon  a  chain  of  hills  back  of  the 
one  captured  by  the  fifth  division  on  the  previous  day. 
About  noon  the  Seventh  Illinois,  who  were  on  the  right, 
charged  a  hill  in  their  front  capturing  it  with  a  large 
number  of  prisoners,  but  the  enemy  being  strongly  re 
inforced  at  this  point,  the  Seventh  was  repulsed  with 
heavy  loss.  The  Ninth  Illinois,  who  occupied  the  left 
of  the  brigade,  now  joined  in  fierce  combat  with  the  oc 
cupants  of  a  strongly  fortified  pinnacle  in  their  front. 
A  battery  was  thrown  into  position  on  the  left  which 
opened  upon  the  rebels  on  this  hill  with  telling  effect.' 
Gen.  Hatch  now  called  for  companies  "  L  "  and  "  K"  of 
the  Second  Iowa  to  assist  in  dragging  two  pieces  of 
cannon,  by  the  aid  of  a  rope,  to  the  top  of  a  pinnacle 
held  by  the  Second  Iowa,  which  commanded  the  works 
of  the  enemy.  The  General  assisted  in  this  work  with 
his  own  hands.  When  the  cannon  were  planted  they 


148  HISTORY  OF    THE 

raked  the  enemy's  lines  with  such  telling  effect,  thai 
they  soon  yielded  to  a  charge  from  the  Ninth  Illinois 
and  the  coveted  breastworks  were  in  Federal  hands. 

The  Seventh  Illinois  now  advanced  upon  the  enemy 
in  their  front  with  complete  success,  the  rebels  retreat' 
ing  in  every  direction.  Col.  Coon  hotly  pursued  the 
retreating  foe,  and  just  after  dark  he  charged  them  with 
the  Twelfth  Tennessee  cavalry.  The  charge  was  a  per 
fect  success,  resulting  in  the  complete  route  of  the  ene 
my.  The  Twelfth  Tennessee  captured  Brig.-General 
Euker,  with  a  stand  of  division  colors  and  many  prison 
ers.  This  closed  the  action  for  the  day.  Hood  had 
been  routed  at  every  point.  He  had  yielded  all  his  for 
tifications,  and  with  them  fifty  pieces  of  cannon  and 
5,000  prisoners.  Gen.  Hatch  now  advised  a  vigorous 
night  attack,  and  to  so  follow  up  the  advantage  gained, 
as  to  prevent  the  reorganizing  of  the  stampeded  enemy,' 
thus  rendering  their  complete  capture  sure.  But  in 
this  he  was  overruled  by  his  superiors,  and  we  camped 
for  the  night  nine  miles  from  Nashville,  near  the  Gran- 
ny  White  Pike.  This  day's  work  ended  the  fighting  as 
far  as  the  Federal  infantry  was  concerned. 

On  the  morning  of  the  17th  we  moved  out  behind 
the  seventh  division,  Gen.  Nipe  commanding.  General 
Nipe  did  finely;  before  noon  he  had  sent  near  500 
prisoners  to  the  rear.  About  2  o'clock  p.  M.,  the  enemy 
was  compelled  to  make  a  stand  to  save  their  train. 
They  selected  a  strong  position  and  opened  upon  the 
seventh  division  with  artillery,  strongly  supported  by 
cavalry  and  infantry.  This  stand  was  made  on  the 
Little  Harpeth  Greek,  a  few  miles  south  of  Franklin. 
Gen.  Hatch  galloped  to  Nipe's  assistance,  and  both  di- 
visions  formed  for  a  mounted  charge,  under  a  galling 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  149 

artillery  fire.  The  charging  line  was  a  mile  and  a  half 
in  length,  and  as  they  spurred  forward  they  presented 
a  truly  imposing  sight. 

We  had  a  long  ride  over  a  very  rough  country  before 
we  reached  the  rebel  lines.  The  Little  Harpeth  also 
had  to  be  crossed,  which,  together  with  the  volleys  of 
the  enemy  from  a  strong  and  well  covered  position, 
completely  broke  our  line  before  we  reached  them.  As 
we  neared  the  fence  behind  which  the  rebels  lay,  we 
were  greeted  by  a  galling  and  well  aimed  fire  which 
carried  death  to  many  a  noble  heart.  The  enemy  was 
dismounted  and  well  covered,  which  gave  them  so  great 
an  advantage  that  they  could  not  at  first  be  dislodged. 
The  Federals  broke  through  the  fence  and  joined  in  a 
hand  to  hand  struggle  with  the  enemy.  Most  of  them 
were  dressed  in  Federal  uniforms,  and  as  it  was  quite 
dark  and  foggy,  it  was  with  great  difficulty  we  discerned 
friend  from  foe.  Many  of  our  boys,  mistaking  the  enemy 
for  friends,  rode  into  their  lines,  and  either  obeyed  the 
summons  to  surrender,  usually  pronounced  over  a  dozen 
leveled  muskets,  or  by  desperate  fighting  cut  their  way 
out  with  fearful  loss.  Fierce  hand  to  hand  encounters 
and  scenes  of  personal  darmg,  where  clubbed  muskets, 
sabres  and  pistols  were  freely  used,  became  the  order 
of  the  hour.  Now  some  fellow  so  overpowered  by  num 
bers  as  to  make  further  resistance  madness,  would  sur 
render  ;  the  next  instant  a  ball  from  a  friend's  carbine 
would  lay  the  captor  dead  at  the  prisoner's  feet,  and 
thus  liberated  he  would  rejoin  his  comrades  in  the  fight. 
In  this  struggle,  which  for  fierceness  exceeded  any  the 
regiment  ever  engaged  in,  company  "  L,"  Lieut.  Craw 
ford  commanding,  andv  company  "  K,r  Serg't  Coulter 
commanding,  were  the  principal  actors  in  a  conflict 


150  HISTORY    OF    THE 

over  the  colors  of  Ross'  (rebel)  brigade.  As  the  con 
tending  forces  came  together,  private  Dominic  Black, 
of  company  "  K,"  ordered  the  rebel  color  bearer  tc 
surrender  ;  he  refused,  when  Black,  followed  by  others, 
rushed  upon  him.  Just  as  he  was  in  the  act  of  striking 
the  color  bearer  down  with  his  sabre,  one  of  the  coloi 
guards  shot  him  through  the  heart.  Serg't  Coulte] 
then  siezed  the  flag,  wrenching  it  from  the  hands  of  the 
bearer ;  the  moment  Coulter  got  possession  of  the  flag 
he  was  shot  through  the  shoulder  by  a  rebel  not  three 
steps  distant ;  though  severely  wounded  he  succeeded  ir 
escaping  with  the  prize.  Private  Wall  was  confrontec 
by  a  rebel  who  placed  the  muzzle  of  his  gun  againsi 
his  breast.  Wall  dropped  his  own  gun,  which  he  sa^ 
he  could  not  use  in  time,  and  seized  the  barrel  of  the 
rebel's,  forcing  its  aim  past  his  side.  Tho's  Bell  rushec 
to  Wall's  relief  with  an  empty  carbine  ;  seeing  Bell,  the 
rebel  dropped  the  gun  for  which  he  was  tussling,  anc 
jerking  a  pistol  from  his  belt  fired  it  at  Bell's  head 
missing  him  ;  he  saw  another  pistol  in  the  rebel's  belt 
and  by  a  lucky  movement  secured  it  and  with  it  killec 
his  antagonist.  Wall  who  had  the  rebel's  gun,  killec 
with  it  a  second  rebel  who  Had  assaulted  Bell ;  he  no^ 
attempted  to  escape  when  he  was  assailed  by  a  third 
to  whom  he  surrendered.  As  he  was  being  marchec 
to  the  rear,  Hilderbrand  rushed  to  his  relief  and  snappec 
Ms  carbine  in  the  rebel's  face  ;  it  missed  fire  ;  the  rebe 
snapped  at  Hilderbrand  with  like  result,  when  the  tw< 
clinched.  Magee,  of  company  "  L,"  rushed  to  Hilder 
brand's  aid,  but  was  felled  to  the  ground  by  a  bloia 
from  the  rebel's  musket.  Chas.  Shultz,  of  company 
"  L,"  killed  the  rebel  that  struck  Magee  and  rescuec 
him  as  well  as  Hilderbrand.  A  rebel  shot  at  L.  L 


IOWA    CAVALRY.  151 

Backus,  of  company  "  K,7'  after  Backus  had,  ordered 
him  to  surrender,  but  missing  him  begged  for  quarters. 
Backus  now  refused  to  take  him  prisoner  and  fired  upon 
him,  missing  his  aim  ;  the  rebel  thinking  that  he  now 
had  the  best  of  the  fight,  rushed  upon  him  with  his  pis 
tol,  crying  "D — m  you,  I'll  teach  you  to  shoot  at  me 
after  I  have  surrendered."     Backus  was  too  quick  for 
him,  however,  and  felled  him  with  the  butt  of  his  car 
bine,  at  the  same  time  throwing  another  ball  into  the 
barrel,  with  which  he  killed  him.     Before  he  could  re 
load,  another  rebel  fired  at  him,  taking  off  two  of  his 
fingers.     Wm.  Anderson  escaped  from  a  hand  to  hand 
!  encounter  with  an  officer,  with  the  loss  of  one  eye.  John 
Tabb  was  forced  to  surrender,  but  relieved  by  Wall, 
who  killed  his  guard.    Corp'l  Margretz  of  company  "F," 
i  Corporal  Heck  of  company  "  K,"  private  McCormic  of 
I  company  "  B,'1  and  a  member  of  the  Seventh  Illinois 
j  cavalry,  were  all  killed  in  this  struggle  for  the  flag ;  also 
:  eight  rebels.    Privates  Hamrnitt,  All  brook  and  Bennett, 
of  company  "I,"  were  captured  in  this  conflict,  but  es 
caped  before  reaching  the  Southern   prisons.      Seven 
|  others  were  captured  and  taken  South. 

Lieut.  Griffith,  with  ten  men  of  company  "D"  and 

{  the  Second  Iowa  standard,  passed  through  the  Confed- 

j  erate  lines,  but  escaped  capture  by  playing  off  rebel. 

They  were  at  one  time  in  the  road  in  the  rear  of  the 

rebel  cannon,  which  were  at  the  time  playing  upon  our 

lines  in  an  opposite  direction. 

It  was  so  difficult  to  tell  friend  from  foe,  that  Gen. 

Hatch,  at  one  time,  could  not  distinguish  his  own  forces; 

hence  he  ordered  Lieut.  Crawford,  with  Jas.  Trusdell, 

j  of  company  "  H,"  as  his  orderly,  to  ride  down  to  the 

forces   in    question    and    ascertain    who    they   were. 


152  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Crawford  rode  near  to  them  but  could  not  tell  them 
from  Federals,  until  he  tapped  one  of  them  on  the 
shoulder,  demanding  of  him  "what  command." 
"Nineteenth  Tennessee,  Bell's  brigade,  rear  guard," 
was  the  reply.  He  now  knew  they  were  rebels,  and 
slipped  out  and  returned  with  the  information  to  Gen. 
Hatch  who  opened  his  cannon  upon  them. 

At  this  juncture  of  affairs,  Capt.  Foster,  commanding 
second  battalion,  galloped  a  little  to  the  right  to  see 
if  the  flank  was  safe,  when  he  came  face  to  face  with 
the  head  of  a  rebel  column,  and  was  greeted  with  "sur 
render  you  d — d  Yankee."  Foster  swung  his  sabre, 
crying,  "  don't  you  fire  upon  this  column,"  when  the  en 
emy  mistaking  him  for  a  rebel,  took  down  their  arms. 
He  then  put  spurs  to  his  horse  and  escaped,  the  enemy 
firing  a  volley  after  him,  one  ball  of  which  passed 
through  the  head  of  his  orderly,  J.  W.  Kooker  of  com 
pany  "  D,"  taking  out  both  of  his  eyes.  Hooker  fell  a 
prisoner  and  was  left  on  the  field  after  being  robbed. 
The  brigade  was  repulsed  at  first,  but  Col.  Coon  and 
Capt.  Avery,  of  the  Ninth  Illinois  cavalry  and  A.  A. 
A.  G.,  quickly  rallied  the  men,  when  they  again  ad 
vanced,  this  time  with  their  horses  at  a  slow  walk,  fir 
ing  as  rapidly  as  possible.  •  The  rebels  could  not  stand 
their  leaden  hail,  but  fled  so  rapidly  as  to  leave  their 
cannon  unsupported.  Gen.  Hatch  saw  this  and  charged 
the  battery  with  but  nine  followers,  capturing  all  the 
guns — three  12-pound  brass  pieces.  He  had  no  weapon 
in  this  charge  but  a  riding  whip,  having  previously  lost 
his  pistol. 

The  rebels  soon  re-formed  and  made  desperate  at 
tempts  to  recapture  this  battery,  but  Capt.  Harper 
with  the  Ninth  Illinois  stubbornly  and  successfully 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  153 

resisted  every  advance  of  the  enemy.  The  Ninth  Illi 
nois  here  fired  by  vollies  at  the  word  of  command ;  in 
this  way,  it  being  after  dark,  they  prevented  the  enemy 
from  taking  advantage  of  the  light  created  by  the  dis 
charge  of  their  guns,  as  they  would  have  been  able  to 
do  had  they  fired  at  random.  I  never  heard  better 
vollies  fired  over  a  grave  than  these  Illinois  boys- 
fired  that  night.  After  repeated  and  fruitless  attempts 
to  break  through  our  lines,  the  Confederates  withdrew 
and  the  day  was  ours — the  field,  with  the  enemy's 
killed  and  wounded,  as  also  their  cannon,  being  in  our 
possession.  Up  to  this  time  Gen.  Hatch  had  captured 
every  piece  of  artillery  the  enemy  had  fired  at  his  divi 
sion,  since  he  left  Nashville  on  the  morning  of  the  15th. 

On  the  18th  Forrest  made  another  stand  at  Huthers- 
ford  Creek ;  as  he  had  destroyed  the  bridge  after  cross 
ing,  he  succeeded  in  checking  our  advance  one  day.  In 
an  engagement  which  took  place  across  this  creek,  ar 
tillery  was  freely  used  on  both  sides;  the  Second 
Iowa  lost  one  man  killed  and  two  wounded.  We  reached 
Duck  river,  opposite  Columbia,  on  the  20th,  when 
Capt.  Foster  was  sent  with  the  second  battalion  out  on 
the  Murfreesboro'  road,  where  he  captured  two  how 
itzers,  two  army  wagons  and  three  ambulances. 

On  the  25th  of  December,  Gen.  Hammond  had  the 
advance.  He  found  the  enemy  near  Pulaski,  where  the 
Fifth  Iowa  cavalry  gallantly  charged  them,  driving 
them  through  the  town  so  rapidly  as  to  save  a  long 
covered  bridge  over  Hichland  Creek  at  Pulaski.  The 
saving  of  this  bridge  was  of  great  importance  to  our 
forces,  and  reflected  great  credit  upon  the  brave  regi 
ment  that  did  the  work.  Owing  to  the  failure  on  the 

part    of   the    enemy  to   check  our   advance   by  the 
20 


154  HISTORY    OF    THE 

destruction  of  this  bridge,  Forrest  was  compelled  tc 
abandon  over  a  hundred  wagons  loaded  with  fixed  am 
munition,  besides  much  other  property. 

About  2  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  the  25th,  For 
rest  made  a  stand  upon  a  fortified  hill,  where  he,  to  some 
extent,  routed  Gen.  Hammond,  capturing  from  him  one 
piece  of  artillery.  General  Hatch  was  ordered  to  th( 
front,  where  he  quickly  formed  his  division  and  chargec 
the  rebel  works,  capturing  them  with  a  small  numbei 
of  prisoners.  The  loss  of  the  Second  Iowa  in  this  actioi 
was  two  wounded. 

On  the  27th  of  December,  Maj.  Horton  was  orderec 
to  report  to  Col.  Spaulding,  of  the  Twefth  Tennessee 
cavalry,  with  200  men.  Spaulding  was  ordered  to  take 
500 picked  men  from  the  brigade  and -push  ahead  of  the 
main  column,  and  follow  Hood  to  the  Tennessee  river 
The  Colonel  pressed  him  so  hard  as  to  compel  him  tc 
abandon  three  pontoon  wagons,  and  forty  army  wagons 
and  ambulances.  Capt.  Bandy  and  Lieut.  Hamilton 
with  fifty  men,  drove  his  rear  guard  across  the  river  al 
Bainbridge  on  the  eve  of  the  28th  of  December. 

The  following  sentence  is  from  Maj.  Horton' s  official 
report  of  this  campaign  : 

"  Of  the  conduct  of  officers  and  men,  I  can  only  speak 
in  terms  of  the  highest  commendation.  Where  ever}; 
soldier  deserves  special  mention,  it  is  hard  to  discrinii 
nate.  I  will  only  make  special  mention  of  Lieut.  Syd 
enham,  Reg'tl  Adj't,  and  by  battalion  commanders. 
Maj.  Schmitzer,  Capt's  Foster  and  Bandy,  to  whom  1 
am  greatly  indebted  for  the  efficient,  prompt  and  gal 
laut  manner  in  which  all  my  orders  were  executed." 

This  campaign  had  almost  annihilated  Hood's  mag 
nificent  army.  His  losses  by  desertion  was  almost 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALKY.  lf)f) 

fabulous,  besides  nearly  10,000  that  we  captured,  with 
seventy -five  pieces  of  artillery.  It  is  said  by  those  claim 
ing  to  know — and  Southern  papers  confirm  the  asser 
tion — that  out  of  the  60,000  men  taken  by  Hood  into 
Tennessee,  not  over  15,000  could  be  made  available  in 
the  future  operations  of  the  war.  His  entire  train  was 
burned  by  a  detachment  of  the  Second  Tennessee  and 
Nineteenth  Pennsylvania  cavalry,  after  he  crossed  the 
Tennessee. 

The  cavalry  corps  was  now^ordered  to  Huntsville, 
Alabama,  where  we  hoped  to  get  a  little  much  needed 
rest.  The  roads  were  almost  impassible,  and  the  creeks 
high  and  difficult  to  ford ;  still  we  advanced  a  few  miles 
each  day,  until  the  2d  of  January,  1865,  when  being 
within  fourteen  miles  of  Huntsville,  we  received  orders 
to  countermarch  and  go  to  Eastport,  Mississippi.  'Twas 
now  mid  winter  and  the  weather  cold.  The  creeks 
which  we  were  compelled  to  ford  daily,  were  BO  high 
as  to  come  up  to  the  backs  of  our  horses,  hence,  as  may 
be  supposed,  some  of  the  command  were  daily  immersed, 
which  in  no  way  added  to  their  pleasure. 

We  reached  Eastport  January  llth,  where  we  re 
mained  until  the  14th,  when  we  were  ordered  to  Grav 
elly  Springs,  where  we  constructed  winter  quarters, 
which  we  were  allowed  to  enjoy  a  little  over  two  weeks, 
when  we  moved  back  to  Eastport  and  again  construct 
ed  winter  quarters. 

The  captures  of  Col.  Coon's  brigade  in  the  battle  of 
Nashville  and  during  the  pursuit  of  Hood  to  the  Ten 
nessee  river,  as  shown  by  the  Provost  Marshal's  report 
at  Nashville,  sum  up  as  follows : 

One  General,  two  Majors,  two  Captains,  six  Lieuten 
ants,  1,175  privates,  one  stand  division  colors,  three 


156  HISTOKY    OF   THE 

stands  brigade  colors,  1,315  muskets,  twenty-one 
wagons,  seven  ambulances,  fifteen  pieces  of  artillery, 
The  loss  of  the  Second  Iowa  in  this  work  was  sixty-one : 
fourteen  of  whom  were  killed. 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY  157 


CHAPTEK   VII. 

TRIP  TO  TUSCUMBIA — RETREAT  OP  GEN.  RODDY  FROM  RUSSELLVILLE,  ALA— EXPLOITS 
OF  THOS.  BEARSNER— EXTRACTS  FROM  REBEL  MINISTER'S  JOURNAL— A  REFUGEE 
MERCHANT  AIDED  IN  GETTING  HIS  FAMILY  AND  COTTON  AWAY— HORSES  AND  ARMS 
TURNED  OVER  TO  WILSON'S  COMMAND— COMPLIMENTARY  ORDERS  BY  WILSON- 
TRIAL  DRILL— RECEPTION  OF  THE  NEWS  OF  THE  SURRENDER  OF  GEN.  LiEE,  ETC. 

On  the  19th  of  February,  1865,  Maj.  Schmitzer  left 
camp  at  Eastport  in  command  of  a  detachment  of  400 
men  from  the  Second  Iowa  and  Ninth  Illinois  cavalry, 
and  marched  to  Tuscumbia,  Ala.,  which  point  he  reached 
on  the  20th.  On  the  following  morning  he  started  for 
Russell ville  with  all  the  command  but  the  1st  battalion 
of  the  Second  Iowa,  Capt.  Bandy  commanding,  which 
were  left  at  Tuscumbia.  Russellville  was  the  head 
quarters  of  the  rebel  Gen.  Roddy,  who  commanded  a 
division  of  cavalry.  His  ranks  were  so  reduced  by  de 
sertion  that  he  deemed  it  unsafe  to  risk  a  battle  with 
even  the  small  force  of  300  men  with  which  Major 
Schmitzer  moved  against  him,  hence  at  our  approach 
he  moved  farther  South  for  safety.  The  country  be 
tween  Tuscumbia  and  Russellville  was  full  of  Confed 
erate  soldiers,  who  feeling  their  cause  hopeless,  had  de 
serted  Roddy's  command,  and  were  hiding  in  the  woods 
to  avoid  the  gangs  who  were  hunting  them  with  orders 
from  him  to  shoot  them  at  sight.  Abut  thirty  of  these 
wretches  flocked  to  our  column  and  were  overjoyed  at 
the  opportunity  of  thus  surrendering  themselves  as 


15.8  HISTORY    OF    THE 

prisoners,  and  claiming  the  protection  of  the  flag  they 
had  trampled  in  the  dust. 

As  Roddy  had  retreated  from  Russellville  at  our  ap 
proach,  Maj.  Schmitzer  returned  with  the  prisoners  who 
had  joined  the  column,  to  Tuscumbia.  When  within  a 
few  miles  of  the  town  some  of  the  orderlies  went  upon 
the  flank  after  meat.  Through  mistake  Maj.  Moore's 
orderly,  Thos.  Bearsner,  was  left  at  a  house  alone.  He 
did  not  discover  that  his  comrades  were  gone  until  he 
saw  a  soldier  ride  into  the  yard,  whom  he  soon  discov 
ered  to  be  a  Confederate.  He  had  no  arms,  but  thrust 
ing  his  hand  behind  him  as  if  to  draw  a  pistol,  he  or 
dered  the  rebel  to  surrender,  which  he  did,  giving  up  a 
dirk  which  was  the  only  weapon  in  his  possession.  A 
second  rebel  now  came  up,  from  whom  Bearsner,  with 
the  aid  of  his  dirk,  took  a  carbine  and  bunch  of  car 
tridges.  Just  as  he  got  his  carbine  loaded,  the  third 
rebel  came  up  who  was  captured  as  his  comrades  had 
been ;  all  three  were  marched  safely  to  camp.  Bears 
ner  also  captured  a  Methodist  Minister  by  the  name  of 
Ferdinand  S.  Pet  way,  whom  he  released  on  account  of 
his  clerical  toga,  having  first  relieved  him  of  a  journal 
from  which  we  clip  the  following  extracts,  as  examples 
of  the  Gospel  of  Christ  as  heralded  by  the  clergy  of 
Dixie.  The  author  of  the  following  sentences  is  a  Meth 
odist  Minister,  who  was  stationed  on  the  Tuscumbia 
Circuit  at  the  time  the  journal  was  captured.  On  the 
19th  of  January,  1864,  Petway  wrote  as  follows : 

"  Shall  we,  in  view  of  the  immense  odds  against  us, 
yield  the  struggle  and  become  the  subjects,  aye,  the 
fawning  slaves  of  a  detestable  tyrant,  in  comparison 
with  whom  the  devil  himself  is  almost  a  saint  ?  Shall 
we  give  up,  then  ?  Yes,  provided  we  are  ready  to  be 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALKY.  1.59 

the  slaves  of  a  petty  despot ;  to  be  held  and  treated  as 
conquered  provinces ;  to  be  denied  the  right  of  repre 
sentation  in  Congress  halls ;  to  have  insolent  abolition 
officers  to  rule  and  insult  us  in  military  and  civil  depart 
ments  ;  to  give  up  houses,  slaves,  lands,  cattle,  and  wan 
der  homeless  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  ;  to  shoulder  a 
Yankee  debt  of  five  thousand  millions ;  to  pay  taxes 
without  the  means  of  paying  them  ;  to  make  brick,  as 
the  ancient  Israelites  did,  without  straw;  to  see  our 
wives  and  daughters  go  to  the  kitchen,  the  wash-tub, 
the  plow-handle,  and  the  dirty  drudgery ;  to  see  our 
mothers  serving  and  waiting  maids  to  the  wives  of 
Yankee  Generals ;  to  see  our  sons  and  relatives  drafted 
into  Yankee  armies,  and  compelled  to  shed  their  blood 
in  enforcing  the  Monroe  doctrine  against  the  French 
in  Mexico  ;  to  see  social  and  political  equality  enforced 
between  whites  and  blacks ;  oh  !  worse  than  this,  social 
amalgamation  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet ;  to  see  our 
virtuous  accomplished  Southern  ladies  insulted  by  de 
graded,  abominable  foreign  hirelings,  and  the  detested 
Yankee,and  insulted  by  filthy  brutal  thick-lipped  negroes, 
who  will  force  upon  them  his  polluted  touch,  more  re 
pulsive  to  refined  woman  than  would  be  the  touch  of 
the  adder  or  the  slimy  coil  of  the  boa-constrictor  ;  to 
have  every  newspaper  in  the  land  edited  by  a  villain 
ous  Yankee ;  every  pulpit  and  every  school  filled  by 
abolition  fanatics ;  to  adopt  an  c  anti-slavery  Bible  and 
an  anti-slavery  God ; '  to  welcome  free-love  as  a  new 
dispensation ;  to  see  all  traces  of  Southern  ancestry 
and  heritage  abolished,  all  families  scattered,  and  all 
social  institutions  destroyed  ;  to  see  the  graves  of  our 
fathers  and  mothers  desecrated  by  the  footsteps  of  hire 
lings  and  cut-throats  ;  to  forget  that  ladies  and  gentle- 


160  HISTORY    OF   THE 

men  existed ;  to  forget  the  pride  of  a  good  name  and 
an  unsullied  reputation,  and  to  worship  an  aristocracy 
of  wealth  acquired  by  villainy  and  force  of  arms  ;  in  a 
word,  to  encounter  the  nameless  horrors  of  Yankee  sub 
jugation.  If  we  are  prepared  for  all  this,  then,  I  say, 
give  up,  and  the  sooner  it  is  done  the  better,  for  the 
burden  may  thereby  be  lightened  by  a  speedy  submis, 
sion.  But  if  we  are  unwilling  to  drink  of  the  bitter  cup 
to  its  very  dregs,  then  I  say  fight  on,  fight  against  hope, 
fight  to  the  last  expiring  gasp.  Far  better  that  we 
should  be  exterminated,  and  our  names  blotted  from 
the  remembrance  of  all  but  the  good  and  virtuous,  than 
to  live  in  chains  and  slavery. 

"  Let  the  poor  thieves,  in  their  fiendish  exultations, 
luxuriate  on  their  ill-gotten  gain  ;  let  them  sneer  at  the 
valor  of  a  virtuous  people,  a  principle  to  which  they 
are  utter  strangers ;  let  them  in  their  savage  indiffer 
ence  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  the  cries  of  injured  innocence ; 
let  them  laugh  to  scorn,  as  cowards  and  villains  are 
wont  to  do,  the  wan  cheeks,  haggard  visage,  and  tat 
tered  garments  of  orphanage  and  widowhood;  let 
them  offer  their  tribute  of  curses  to  brave  humanity 
sacrificed  in  the  cause  of  freedom  and  justice  ;  let  them 
kiss  the  feet  of  " her  Majesty"  the  august  upstart 
Queen,  whose  gracious  smile  is  their  touchstone,  and 
before  whose  glance  they  cower  and  quail ;  let  them 
hug  to  their  bosom  the  filthy  thick-lipped  descendents 
of  Ham,  and  luxuriate  amid  the  fragrant  aroma  from 
his  charcoal  carcass — fit  emblems  of  their  social  and 
moral  stench  that  pervades  all  Yankeedom ;  let  the 
boasted  intelligence  of  their  beautiful  refined  damsels, 
in  their  gracious  sympathy  with  poor  Sambo,  assimilate 
itself  with  the  principle  of  social  amalgamation,  and 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  101 

pining  love  rest  in  matrimonial  bliss  upon  his  sable 
bosom  ;  let  them  draw  the  sweet  nectar  from  his  pre 
cious  lips,  and  whirl  in  his  lascivious  embrace  amid  the 
charms  of  the  giddy  waltz  ;  let  them  court  the  polished 
society  of  negro  wenches  as  boon  companions  and  sis 
ters  in  marriage,  as  beautiful  household  pets,  and  prat 
tling  kinky-heads  as  parlor  ornaments.  Let  them  do 
all  this  under  the  gracious  pretext  of  sympathy  with 
the  negro.  It  is  at  last  but  the  development  of  North 
ern  corruption  among  male  and  female ;  the  natural 
outbearings  of  principles  congenial  with  their  nature; 
and  as  the  old  trite  adage  goes,  "  murder  will  out,"  so 
"  from  the  abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh." 
The  dog  will  bark  and  whine  ;  the  brute  is  known  by 
brutish  instincts ;  and  so  likewise,  as  the  germ  of  all 
rottenness  is  inherent  in  the  Yankee  heart,  the  brute, 
the  thief,  the  villain,  the  dog,  with  doggish  instincts  and 
passions,  will  be  developed  whenever  the  chance  is 
afforded,  by  fraud  or  force  of  arms. 

"They  are  welcome  to  indulge  their  fiendish  instincts, 
if  they  will  select  subjects  among  themselves ;  but  to  be 
forced  to  an  association  of  any  kind  with  those,  before 
whom  virtue  withers,  and  at  whose  presence  common  . 
decency  instinctively  revolts,  would  be  a  penalty  in 
comparison  with  which  imprisonment  would  be  an  eden 
home,  exile  a  grand  luxury,  and  death  a  sweet  and  glo 
rious  privilege." 

On  the  15th  of  February  he  wrote  : 

"  I  should  have  recorded,  that  on  Sunday  afternoon 
I  preached  to  the  colored  people  from  Heb.  iv.,  15-16." 

After  the  battle  of  Franklin,  Tenn.,  he  wrote  : 

"  We  have  captured  six  thousand  prisoners  ;  I  would 
much  prefer  they  were  dead ;  we  have   no   rations  to 
21 


162  IIISTOUT   OF    THE 

spare  the  poor  devils.  The  enemy,  thank  God,  are  re 
treating  towards  Murfreesboro7,  having  been  cut  oi 
from  Nashville  by  the  old  "  war  horse,"  Gen.  Forrest 
I  trust  the  last  scamp  will  leave  his  bones  on  Tenneese< 
soil,  and  become  food  for  buzzards,  if  the  buzzards  cai 
digest  them,  and  if  they  cannot  it  will  go  hard  witl 
them,  tor  they  are  unaccustomed  to  preying  upon  ai 
corrupt  material  as  a  Yankee  carcass." 

Is  it  to  be  wondered  at,  that  the  ignorant  white; 
of  the  South  should  be  rebels,  when  even  the  minister! 
of  the  gospel  preached  to  them  in  strains  like  the  above 

While  Maj.  Schmitzer  was  making  this  movemen 
upon  Russellville,  Capt.  Bandy  with  100  men  remainec 
in  Tuscumbia,  aiding  a  former  merchant  of  the  p!ac< 
in  getting  about  $30,000  worth  of  cotton,  which  he  hac 
secreted  there,  to  the  Tennessee  river,  where  it  wai 
made  into  a  raft  and  run  down  to  Eastport.  This  mei 
chant  had  been  driven  from  Tuscumbia  three  years  be 
fore  this  on  account  of  his  Union  sentiments,  being  com 
pelled  to  leave  his  family  behind  him.  By  the  aic 
rendered  by  Capt.  Bandy,  he  got  his  cotton  to  Eastpor 
in  safety,  and  his  family  came  down  in  a  carriage  witl 
the  column. 

Brev't-Maj.-Gen.  Wilson  now  prepared  to  start  on  t 
grand  raid  into  the  centre  of  the  Confederacy,  with  % 
large  cavalry  command.  The  fifth  division  was  not  tc 
form  a  part  of  this  force,  hence  we  were  ordered  tc 
turn  over  our  horses  to  those  troops  who  were  selectee 
for  the  enterprise.  This  done,  Gen.  Wilson  applied  foi 
a  supply  of  Spencer  carbines,  with  which  to  arm  sue! 
regiments  as  had  a  poor  weapon  for  an  active  fighting 
campaign ;  but  these  carbines  did  not  arrive  in  time  foi 
the  use  for  which  they  were  designed,  arid  Gen.  Croxtoi 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  163 

asked  that  his  division  be  allowed  to  take  the  Spencers 
of  this  brigade,  as  they  would  likely  need  them  worse 
than  we  would.  It  was  no  small  sacrifice  for  the  boys 
to  relinquish  their  carbines  with  which  they  had 
fought  so  many  a  bloody  battle,  but  the  probabilities 
were  that  the  good  of  the  service  required  the  sacrifice, 
and  it  was  made  ;  whereupon  Gen.  Wilson  issued  the 
following  complimentary  order : 

HEADQUARTERS  CAVALRY* CORPS,  M.  D.  M., 

CHICKASAW,  ALA.,  March  18th,  1865. 
General  Order  No.  24. 

The  Brevet  Major  General  commanding  takes  great 
pleasure  in  announcing  to  the  Cavalry  Corps,  that  the 
officers  and  men  of  the  Second  Iowa,  Sixth  and  Ninth 
Illinois,  through  Brig.-Gen.  Edward  Hatch,  command 
ing  fifth  division,  and  Col.  D.  E.  Coon,  second  brigade, 
have,  with  a  spirit  of  generosity  excelled  only  by  their 
gallantry,  voluntarily  turned  over  to  the  first  division 
a  large  number  of  Spencer  carbines,  taking  in  exchange 
an  equal  number  of  inferior  arms  of  various  patterns  : 
this  too  after  they  had  been  compelled  to  turn  over 
their  horses  to  the  seventh  division  and  other  detach 
ments. 

Such  an  exhibition  of  zeal  for  the  interests  of  the 
public  service,  of  self  denial,  and  of  friendly  regard 
for  their  brothers  in  arms,  is  unparelleled,  and  entitles 
the  brave  men  who  have  so  cheerfully  made  it,  to  the 
thanks  and  admiration  of  every  soldier  in  the  corps. 
Troops  who  have  distinguished  themselves  by  so  many 
acts  of  gallantry,  as  adorn  the  history  of  the,  fifth  di 
vision,  could  have  made  no  greater  sacrifice.  They  are 
entitled  to  the  best  remount,  equipments  and  arms  the 
country  can  furnish,  and  every  effort  will  be  made  to 


Itf4  HISTORY    OF    THE 

secure  them  in  time  to  enable  them  to  participate  in  the 
events  of  the  ensuing  campaign. 

This  order  will  be  read  to  every  regiment  of  the  fifth 
division. 

By  command  of  Brev't-Maj.-Gen.  Wilson, 
.  [Signed  ]  E.  B.  BEAUMONT, 

Major  and  A.  A.  G. 

The  second  Brigade  soon  received  muskets  and  were 
fitted  out  as  infantry,  and  went  to  drilling  per  infantry 
tactics.  A  friendly  rivalry  on  drill  soon  sprung  up 
between  the  different  regiments  of  the  brigade  ;  this 
led  to  trial  drills,  which  usually  came  off  on  Wednes 
day  afternoon,  before  a  large  crowd  of  staff  officers,  and 
a  prize  drill  of  all  the  regiments  in  the  brigade  came 
off  April  1st,  and  was  followed  by  the  following  order  : 

HEADQUAKTERS  SECOND  BRIGADE,  FIFTH  ] 
DIVISION,  C.  C.,  M.  D.  M., 

EASTPORT,  Miss.,  April  2d,  1865.  ) 
General  Order  No.  9. 

The  Colonel  commanding  takes  pleasure  in  submit 
ting  the  following  report  for  the  information  of  the 
command : 

We,  the  undersigned  Board  of  Judges  of  Test  Drill, 
have  the  honor  to  report  as  follows : 

For  regiment  executing  the  best  movements  of  the 
battalion,  and  best  drilled  in  sabre  exercises,  Second 
Iowa  Cwvdbry  Volunteers. 

The  Board  would  respectfully  recommend  the  follow 
ing  named  enlisted  men  of  the  brigade  for  furloughs, 
for  best  soldierly  bearing,  and  having  their   arms   and 
accoutrements  in  best  condition,  viz  : 
Serg't  David  Ray,  Co.  M,     2d     Iowa     Cav. 

Privt.  Franklin  Groves,  "     G,      "         "  " 


SECOND    IOWA    CAVALRY.  165 

Serg't  Arthur  St.  Clair,         Co-  E,     6th     111.       Cav. 
Privt.  James  Fereman,  "     G,       u       "  " 

1st  Serg't  Mich.  Fraybarger,  "     H,     7th     "  " 

Privt.  Frederick  Bender,        "      E,       "       "  u 

Serg't  Joseph  Gardner,  "     C,     9th     " 

Privt.  Christian  Meyer,  "     G,       "       "  " 

Serg't  JohnMcMinn,  "     H,     12th  Tenn.      " 

Privt.  Reuben  Davis,  "     G,         "      "  " 

Application  for  furloughs  for  the  men  mentioned  in 
the  above  report,  will  be  made  by  their  respective  com 
pany  commanders,  and  forwarded  to  these  headquarters 
without  delay. 

In  conclusion  the  Colonel  commanding  would  state, 
that  the  drill  arid  military  appearance  of  each  and 
every  regiment,  yesterday,  surpassed  anything  that  he 
had  been  prepared  to  witness. 

By  order  of  Datus  E.  Coon,  Col.  Com'dg  Brig. 

F.  E.  OLMSTED, 
Lieut,  and  A.  A.  A.  G. 

To  the  energy  and  efficiency  of  Maj.  Gustavus  Schmit- 
zer,  who  usually  acted  as  drill  master  for  the  regiment, 
and  who  in  this  respect  probably  had  no  equals  in  the 
brigade,  are  we  indebted,  in  a  great  measure,  for  our 
success  at  this  Test  Drill. 

The  boys  being  accustomed  to  the  excitement  inci 
dent  to  active  campaigning,  soon  became  weary  of  camp 
and  its  monotonous  routine,  and  longed  for  orders  to 
rejoin  the  armies  who  were  dealing  such  telling  blows 
in  the  front.  But  our  lot  was  to  perform  the  more  dis 
agreeable  duty  of  garrisoning  a  military  post.  As  the 
boys  could  find  nothing  more  useful  to  busy  themselves 
about,  they  proceeded  to  decorating  their  camp  by  set 
ting  rows  of  pine  trees  along  each  side  of  each  street, 


166  HISTORY    OF    THE 

and  erecting  curiously  devised,"  and  beautifully  deco 
rated  arches  over  the  head  of  the  streets.  This  made 
our  camp  look  more  like  a  beautiful  pleasure  garden, 
than  like  a  rendezvous  of  soldiers. 

Unparalleled  success  had  attended  the  Federal  arms 
during  the  past  six  months.  Gen.  Hood,  as  we  have 
seen,  had  been  almost  annihilated  by  the  army  under 
Gen.  Thomas,  but  this  was  but  a  beginning  of  a  series 
of  victories,  such  as  no  army  ever  before  enjoyed  in  the 
same  length  of  time.  Gen.  Sherman  had  pushed 
his  triumphal  march  from  Atlanta  to  Savannah, 
and  thence  to  Charleston,  Columbia  and  Goldsboro'- 
thus  demonstrating  his  ability  to  go  where  he  pleased. 
None  were  able  to  cope  with  the  dashing  Gen.  Phil. 
Sheridan  in  the  Shennandoah  Valley.  Gen  Wilson's 
march  to  Montgomery,  Alabama,  was  not  less  success 
ful  ;  while  Gen.  Canby  held  Mobile  at  his  mercy.  In 
view  of  these  things,  all  looked  forward  in  joyful  an 
ticipation  to  the  day  that  should  witness  the  overthrow 
of  the  rebellion.  Nor  were  we  destined  long  to  wait 
farther  good  news.  On  the  6th  of  April,  the  official 
news  of  the  fall  of  Richmond  was  read  to  the  command 
at  dress  parade.  The  boys  received  this  announcement 
with  few  outward  manifestations  of  gladness,  for  they 
had  soldiered  too  long  to  attach  very  great  importance 
to  the  fall  of  any  city,  provided  the  armies  who  defend 
ed  it  escaped ;  hence,  all  waited  with  intense  anxiety 
for  the  further  developments,  which  would  show  wheth 
er  Gen.  Lee  and  his  army,  which  formed  the  head  and 
heart  of  the  rebellion,  were  so  environed  by  the  armies 
under  Grant,  as  to  compel  their  surrender.  As  news  to 
this  post  must  come  .by  river  from  Cairo,  it  took  sever 
al  days  to  transmit  the  doings  of  the  Eastern  armies  to 


SECOKD    IOWA    CAVALRY.  167 

our  waiting  ears.  It  came  at  last,  however.  About 
midnight,  on  the  llth,  a  boat  reached  Eastport  with  the 
dispatch  from  A.  Lincoln,  announcing  the  surrender  of 
Lee.  The  soldiers  were  startled  from  their  slumbers 
by  the  boom  of  the  9-inch  cannon  on  the  gunboats, 
which  were  immediately  fired  in  honor  of  the  event. 
Every  soldier  sprang  to  his  feet,  at  a  loss  at  first  to  de 
cide  whether  the  firing  was  a  salute,  or  called  forth  by 
the  approach  of  the  enemy.  The  suspense  was  short, 
for  the  dispatch  was  soon  conveyed  by  orderlies  through 
the  camps.  The  assembly  sounded,  and  cheer  after 
cheer  told  of  the  joy  the  news  conveyed  *to  the  war 
worn  soldiers,  who  now  regarded  the  end  as  indeed  at 
hand. 

The  sad  news  of  the  assassination  of  our  beloved 
President  followed  by  the  next  fleet,  and  the  shouts  of 
joy  were  turned  to  sighs  of  grief.  There  wa«  no  out 
ward  demonstrations,  but  the  sorrowful  look  of  every 
face,  told  more  plainly  than  words  could  do,  that  all 
were  mourning  as  for  the  death  of  a  natural  parent. 
Great  fears  were  entertained  that  something  might  arise 
that  would  prolong  the  war,  but  each  soldier  inwardly 
resolved  to  be  an  avenger  of  the  murder,  if  the  subse 
quent  conduct  of  the  South  should  be  such  as  to  require 
him  to  again  unsheath  his  sword,  But  the  news  of  the 
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forces  under  Gen.  Dick  Taylor,  allayed  our  fears,  and 
as  the  different  commands  in  our  front  sent  in  their  ac 
ceptance  of  the  terms  of  surrender  offerred  them,  we 
knew  that  the  struggle  was  over,  the  rebellion  crushed, 
and  the  Union  saved ;  that  we  had  but  to  wait  for 
the  preliminary  arrangements  for  our  discharges,  before 
we  could  exchange  the  sword  for  the  plow,  and  bidding 


168  HISTORY    OF    THE 

a  joyful  farewell  to  the  tented  field,  return  to  our  happy 
homes,  and  there  enjoy  the  approving  smiles  of  those 
we  loved,  and  the  fruits  of  the  peace  we  had  helped  tc 
conquer.  The  announcement  of  the  death  of  the  mur 
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to  his  remains,  with  the  capture  of  all  that  was  left 
of  the  bogus  Confederacy,  in  a  petticoat,  closed  the  wai 
drama.  And  here  our  history  ends. 


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